Photo Copyright Vincent Carchietta for USA TODAY Sports
The deadline has passed for team options and now NWSL free agents can officially start their negotiations ahead of the 2024 season.
There are two distinct types of free agency coming into play, unrestricted and restricted. Unrestricted free agency is what we traditionally think of with free agency, the players have the right to choose the team they want to negotiate and sign with. There are 55 players who fall under this category for the upcoming season.
This year, as per the CBA, players only need five NWSL service years in order to qualify. A service year means that a player is signed with a team at any time during the league season except for players on player-elected leave or players on leave for the entirety of that period. Free agents cannot actually sign with new clubs until the December 5th deadline given by the league.
| Last Name | First Name | Current Club | Free Agent Status |
| Barnhart | Nicole | Washington Spirit | Unrestricted |
| Betos | Michelle | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Boyd | Emily | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Brooks | Amber | Washington Spirit | Unrestricted |
| Charley | Simone | Angel City FC | Unrestricted |
| Chapman* | Allysha | Houston Dash | Unrestricted |
| Curran** | Emily | Houston Dash | Unrestricted |
| Davidson | Tierna | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Doniak | Makenzy | San Diego Wave FC | Unrestricted |
| Dorsey | Imani | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Dunn | Crystal | Portland Thorns FC | Unrestricted |
| Dydasco | Caprice | Houston Dash | Unrestricted |
| Eddy | Elizabeth | Angel City FC | Unrestricted |
| Farrelly* | Sinead | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Feist | Bayley | Washington Spirit | Unrestricted |
| Flores** | Sabrina | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Gorden | Sarah | Angel City FC | Unrestricted |
| Groom | Shea | Houston Dash | Unrestricted |
| Huster | Tori | Washington Spirit | Unrestricted |
| Kerr | Devon | Houston Dash | Unrestricted |
| Klingenberg** | Meghan | Portland Thorns FC | Unrestricted |
| Krieger*** | Ali | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Krueger | Casey | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Lavelle | Rose | OL Reign | Unrestricted |
| Long | Allie | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Matthews* | Cheyna | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Mathias** | Merritt | Angel City FC | Unrestricted |
| McCaskill | Savannah | Angel City FC | Unrestricted |
| McDonald | Jessica | Racing Louisville FC | Unrestricted |
| McGrady** | Tegan | Portland Thorns FC | Unrestricted |
| Mewis | Sam | Kansas City Current | Unrestricted |
| Nadim | Nadia | Racing Louisville FC | Unrestricted |
| Nagasato* | Yuki | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Pogarch* | Madison | San Diego Wave FC | Unrestricted |
| Rapinoe*** | Megan | OL Reign | Unrestricted |
| Ratcliffe* | Brittany | North Carolina Courage | Unrestricted |
| Roccaro | Cari | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Sauerbrunn | Becky | Portland Thorns FC | Unrestricted |
| Scott | Desiree | Kansas City Current | Unrestricted |
| Sharples | Kayla | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Shim | Mana | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
| Shorts | Cheyenne | San Diego Wave FC | Unrestricted |
| Sinclair | Christine | Portland Thorns FC | Unrestricted |
| Sonnett | Emily | OL Reign | Unrestricted |
| St. Georges | Bianca | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Stanton | Nicole | OL Reign | Unrestricted |
| Strom | Kylie | Orlando Pride | Unrestricted |
| Swanson | Mallory | Chicago Red Stars | Unrestricted |
| Van Egmond | Emily | San Diego Wave FC | Unrestricted |
| Vasconcelos* | Michele | Portland Thorns FC | Unrestricted |
| Viggiano | Marisa | Houston Dash | Unrestricted |
| Weatherholt | Danielle | Angel City FC | Unrestricted |
| Weber | Mallory | Kansas City Current | Unrestricted |
| Westphal | Christen | San Diego Wave FC | Unrestricted |
| Zerboni | McCall | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Unrestricted |
Restricted free agents can negotiate with any team, but once they have an agreed-upon SPA, their current team gets seven days to match the qualified offer. If the originating team decides not to match, the player is free to join the new team.
| Last Name | First Name | Current Club | Free Agent Status |
| Angelina | OL Reign | Restricted | |
| Aylmer | Taylor | Racing Louisville FC | Restricted |
| Biegalski | Camryn | Washington Spirit | Restricted |
| Dederick | Ella | Houston Dash | Restricted |
| Ekic | Emina | Racing Louisville FC | Restricted |
| Fox | Emily | North Carolina Courage | Restricted |
| Gomera-Stevens | Makamae | Houston Dash | Restricted |
| Gramaglia** | Paulina | Houston Dash | Restricted |
| Hammond | Madison | Angel City FC | Restricted |
| Isenhour | Brittany | Angel City FC | Restricted |
| King | Tziarra | OL Reign | Restricted |
| Kuikka | Natalia | Portland Thorns FC | Restricted |
| Listro** | Jordyn | Orlando Pride | Restricted |
| Merrick | Addisyn | Kansas City Current | Restricted |
| Miller | Cassie | Kansas City Current | Restricted |
| Pickett | Kiki | North Carolina Courage | Restricted |
| Porter | Taylor | Portland Thorns FC | Restricted |
| Sánchez | Maria | Houston Dash | Restricted |
| Sheva | Marissa | Washington Spirit | Restricted |
| Stevens | Ella | Chicago Red Stars | Restricted |
Looking at the per-team breakdown, we can see that Chicago and Houston have the largest number of free agents overall with both with 10, while Orlando is on the other side of the spectrum with only 2 total. Gotham and the Reign have been the most active teams trying to lock down potential free agents with four apiece.
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