Trinity Rodman Signs Historic New Contract with NWSL’s Washington Spirit Amid Transfer Rumors

The NWSL’s Washington Spirit agreed to a historic contract with Trinity Rodman on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf.

Per Kassouf, Rodman signed a three-year contract containing an average annual value of over $1 million with the Spirit. Her average salary makes her the highest-paid women’s soccer player in the world.

Rodman had been searching for a new deal after her previous contract expired on Dec. 31.

She reportedly agreed to a four-year contract with Washington that averaged more than $1 million annually on Dec. 3, although NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman ultimately vetoed the deal.

Transfer rumors surrounded Rodman with her uncertain NWSL future, as The Athletic’s Meg Linehan and Tom Bogert reported Nov. 15 that her camp had talks with at least three clubs in the English Women’s Super League while she played on an expiring contract.

She’ll be sticking with the Spirit for the foreseeable future, though.

“It feels amazing, I’m very happy, I’m very blessed,” Rodman said after signing her contract, via Kassouf. “I think it’s a monumental and game-changing moment right now. I can’t even describe in words what it feels like. Obviously everyone’s going to have their different thoughts and opinions about it, but I’ve never really cared. So that doesn’t change anything for me.

“I’ve always had a vision of kind of an idea of what I want my legacy to be and continue to be. For me we’re doing that, with help obviously, and I’m so grateful for that. But yeah I think this is just opening up opportunities for American girls with dreams, and I’m one and was one of them, and so I’m very grateful about that.”

Rodman has served as a key figure of the Spirit and the NWSL as a whole after helping lead the United States to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

While she was limited to just 17 appearances during the 2025 NWSL regular season while dealing with a sprained MCL, she recorded five goals and two assists to go along with 13 tackles.

Rodman’s new contract is a hefty one, as the NWSL’s salary cap is set at $3.5 million for each team in 2026 (h/t Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press). The cap will increase each year until hitting $5.1 million in 2030.

The 2026 NWSL season will begin on March 13.