All 14 NWSL teams issued final end-of-year roster decisions on Tuesday, as the 2025 free agency period shifts into full gear.
Athletes who are currently out-of-contract are now technically on the chopping block, faced with either negotiating new terms to return to their teams or taking the leap and brokering a fresh deal elsewhere.
Standouts listed as out-of-contact include 2024 NWSL champion and Orlando Pride captain Marta as well as NC Courage striker and the league’s 2023 MVP Kerolin. Several current and former USWNT stars also face offseason negotiations, like Gotham FC forward Midge Purce, Portland Thorns center back Becky Sauerbrunn, and Angel City forward Christen Press.
Multiple teams have already acknowledged an intent to retain top players by announcing ongoing negotiations in their final 2024 roster announcements, with Press, Marta, and Kerolin in talks to stay with their clubs.
New CBA means more NWSL movement
Under the league’s new CBA, when a team declines a player’s contract option, that player automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent, guaranteeing roster shakeups despite this year’s lack of expansion and college drafts.
Both athletes whose contracts have expired and those whose options have been declined are considered out-of-contract. While those players will be weighing their options on the open market, teams will be doing the same, deciding who to try to retain and who to officially waive.
Clubs will make many of those decisions imminently, as the waiver wire will open and close this week, before the trade window opens again on December 13th.
The league will take a transaction moratorium from December 20th to 27th, after which teams can resume signings.
Between the CBA-induced influx of free agents and the lack of drafts forcing front offices into what could be lengthy recruiting and negotiating processes to attract young talent, the business of building an NWSL roster has become more complicated.
That said, some clubs seem to be capitalizing on the shake-up. After finishing the season in last place, the Houston Dash have already seen significant roster action — including nabbing defender Christen Westphal from San Diego and signing ex-Gotham free agent Delanie Sheehan — setting an aggressive rebuilding example as the NWSL embraces a new era.
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