Anonymous NWSL GM survey: How teams cheat, the Rodman Rule, USWNT World Cup odds and more

• Jeff KassoufOct 27, 2026, 05:06 AM ET

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  Jeff Kassouf covers women's soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women's soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.

The NWSL's growth continues at a rapid pace in 2026, and with it come growing pains. From expansion teams and controversial new roster rules to new international competitions and increased spending in the global market, the NWSL is navigating several pivotal decisions that will shape its future.

What better time than now for ESPN's third annual NWSL GM Survey? We interviewed general managers (or the equivalent highest-ranking soccer executives) from all 16 clubs in one-on-one video calls to get their unfiltered feedback on the league's new rules and their greatest concerns about the future of the NWSL.

GMs were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive topics including the controversial "Rodman Rule" (which allows teams to exceed the salary cap for star players), how much they are spending on their rosters, rule loopholes (and cheating), their concerns with the salary cap, and more.

As our previous surveys found, GMs still have significant concerns about teams paying players on the side, and there was a nearly unanimous call for charter flights as the NWSL continues to expand and add games. And many GMs voiced concerns throughout their interviews about declining quality of games. Still, most believe the NWSL is, and should remain, the best league in the world in the coming years.

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1. The NWSL quickly pushed through the High Impact Player rule (aka the "Rodman Rule") to retain and attract top talent. Will it work?

The High Impact Player rule allows teams to spend up to $1 million outside of the salary cap (more in future years) on top players in an effort to attract global stars. Although the NWSL added aggressive changes in its last CBA -- including unrestricted free agency and revenue sharing toward the salary cap -- the "Rodman Rule" is the NWSL's attempt to financially compete with top global teams that aren't restricted by salary caps.

The rule was pushed through in December by the NWSL to keep American star forward Trinity Rodman from leaving for lucrative offers from Europe. She re-signed with the Washington Spirit in a deal worth over $2 million annually, making her the world's highest-paid player at the time, according to ESPN's sources.

The original version of the rule -- which stirred debate over its eligibility criteria for players, which included placement on media rankings -- lasted less than a year. The NWSL Players Association voiced opposition to the criteria even before the rule was formally announced, and the union almost immediately filed a grievance.

Last week, the NWSL and the NWSLPA announced a settlement to the grievance that removed the eligibility criteria, allowing teams to choose which players they want to pay large salaries. Even with the criteria removed, the rule remains in place as a way to pay certain players on a team's roster more than everyone else.

We spoke with general managers prior to the official rule changing. GMs in our survey said that the HIP rule alone will not suffice "in isolation" for the NWSL to retain stars. The rule is "very much inadequate" for teams that want to compete internationally, one GM said even while voting "yes."

Several who were surveyed believe that the rule has primarily helped retain, rather than attract, world-class players, with one GM noting that it was literally called the "Rodman Rule" in a league meeting. Another general manager said the rule has only inflated contract values, which they said is "one of the biggest existential threats" to the league.

A different GM said the criteria implemented earlier by the NWSL to qualify for HIP money -- including players being named among a "Most Marketable Athletes" list by a trade publication -- was "a really funky rule when a simple solution would have been to just increase the cap."

The league's original criteria also created a new problem, one GM said: Players currently outside the league who made the eligibility list wanted a big payday. "We've had people reaching out saying, 'Hey, I know you can offer this amount of money from the HIP, and I'm like, 'Well, yes, but I wouldn't want to offer it to you.'"

One team was in deep negotiations with a player from Europe who would qualify for HIP, according to a GM, but "her main hesitation was, 'Well, but then you cannot offer this to anyone else, or even close.'" The player signed elsewhere in Europe knowing that her new club could pay for other top players around her.

GMs on both sides of the argument begrudged how quickly the rule was ratified in December: "It was a rushed decision to announce it in league meetings at the end of a season when people have already planned their cap for the next season. How does that help you to retain talent?"

2. What effect has the High Impact Player rule had on morale in the locker room?

One reason for split opinions: Fewer than half of NWSL teams are using the rule, leaving many clubs without firsthand experience. Still, seven GMs pointed out that salary transparency caused issues even before the rule's introduction. The NWSL Players Association regularly releases salary information internally, so players already have an idea of what each other are making.

"That dynamic's always been there. It's just now more serious money," one GM said. "I could walk through a building for a few days and go, 'What's going on in this building?' And then I'll go, 'Did they release the player salaries to each other this week?' Because -- forget the HIP -- just seeing what everyone in the whole league and teammates are on, that's a dynamic."

One GM said the rule hurts veterans who aren't stars but are the "real culture pieces" of a team. Another said they have found that players were angry with the NWSL for creating what they considered arbitrary criteria.

Still, one general manager said nothing has changed regarding team dynamics with the HIP rule: "Life isn't fair. Nothing about the salary cap is fair. Players that play 90 minutes can make $50,000 a year or they can make $2 million a year. Our players are professional athletes."

3. With most players on the latest USWNT roster competing in the NWSL, how will the team's success at the 2027 World Cup affect the league's global appeal?

We wanted to know whether GMs thought success for the U.S. next year would make more players think about joining the NWSL. Some general managers pointed out that correlation goes both ways: A poor performance, like in 2023, could fuel the idea that the NWSL and the U.S. are "falling behind" and make players think twice about joining.

"We know this league relies on its quote-unquote superstars to be able carry their weight on the marketing and social front," another general manager said, with a different GM making the point that the U.S. needs star players to shine.

Still, some dismissed any relationship, arguing that the NWSL has historically been a top global league and that "additional success will not move the needle much further."

One GM called America's showing at the World Cup "irrelevant" to the league's global appeal. The real question, the GM said, is for the business leaders at the league office and clubs: "What does our performance in the '27 World Cup mean for the growth of the league's visibility and awareness here in the U.S.?"

4. Do you think the U.S. will win the 2027 Women's World Cup?

U.S. coach Emma Hayes received high praise for her overhaul of the program (as she did in last year's survey), even from those GMs who said they don't think the Americans will lift the World Cup next year. (The team is "probably one more year away," one GM said).

Another GM credited Hayes for creating "unsurpassed" depth, with two others adding that an entire second team of Americans could make a deep run in the knockout stage.

"If you're picking a team to win it, they're the team to win," one GM said.

The three GMs who voted "no" predicted Brazil will win on home soil.

5. The NWSL has a $605,000 net cap on transfers per team in 2026. As transfer fee records continue to be broken, should the league increase or eliminate this limit to compete with European clubs without such restrictions?

U.S. defender Naomi Girma became the first $1 million transfer in January 2025 when she moved from San Diego Wave FC to Chelsea. The world transfer fee record has been broken several times since, with the record now at over $1.5 million (conflicting reports make it difficult to pinpoint). Just two years ago, the record was less than one-third of that.

Transfer fees are "exploding," according to one GM, who said the NWSL's per-club threshold must rise with the salary cap. Another agreed that, even with the HIP rule, the league "will be priced out of the market" of major transfers.

The NWSL sets an annual limit for each team's transfer spending, which can be further restricted by how much revenue a club makes off outgoing transfers. One GM said of the restrictions: "In some places you have no resources and money, and a lot of challenges. In some places you have unlimited resources and unlimited money and you have challenges."

For some general managers, it isn't all about spending more. Several want to use transfer funds to pay players, like the rest of the world does. Another called for "net" calculations that roll over beyond one year: "We're sitting on a bucket of cash with a limited window of time that we can actually utilize and use without it expiring."

Still, those who voted "no" said NWSL teams are to blame market inflation.

"Right now, it's still more cost-effective to go and buy from the rest of the world than to trade from within our own league," this GM said. "When everyone now becomes worth $1 million because that's the starting point, then you know the world's gone silly." Two other GMs said the same, with one calling internal trade valuations "insane" and "nonsensical."

But one general manager rebutted with a simple analogy: "I explain it to ownership sometimes like it's a housing market, right? I want to go buy that house. I might not think it's worth a million dollars, but someone else does. So that's what it's going to be worth."

6. Taking into account the salary cap, the High Impact Player money and allocation money: How much are you spending on your roster this year?

General managers candidly shared how much they are spending against the salary cap (which, importantly, does not include salaries for season-ending injuries) as of late August. The above numbers represent a range of what teams are spending by utilizing both the salary cap, which is $3.7 million in 2026, and the High Impact Player rule, which is $1 million on top of that.

Several teams are able to spend more than $4.7 million -- the combined maximum of the salary cap plus the HIP rule -- because they have extra "allocation money," a spending mechanism the league is phasing out. The key takeaway is that any team spending less than $4.7 million is investing less than it could on building its roster.

Five teams are currently spending below the salary cap. Several GMs said that they would max out their spending by the end of the year, when most allocation money expires for good.

Only two GMs declined to provide a specific number, but ESPN independently obtained documentation of previous cap charges to make a realistic estimate for those two teams.

7. Charter flights in the NWSL are still limited to heavy travel with midweek games, and a few round trips per year. Considering the WNBA and MLS allow unlimited charter flights, does the NWSL need to follow suit?

More charter flights? Of course. Even the lone GM who does not believe they should be unlimited wants more than the current allowance of six legs (three round trips) of charter flights.

Many GMs made business arguments: Commercial travel could add an entire night of hotels, food, on-ground transportation and other expenses based on the availability of direct flight times, one GM said. Several said the league would benefit from creating a partnership like MLS has with Sun Country Airlines as the official charter service of the league.

And increased travel, due to ongoing expansion and midweek games, will lead to tired players and bad games, several people said. "It also makes a massive impact on the product of the game," one GM said. "Look at how s--- these midweek games are."

Several GMs connected rising injury rates to increased travel demands, with one calling it "no coincidence." A different general manager noted that commercial flights also pose a security risk as players become more famous.

8. Most GMs in last year's survey believed rule-breaking is still widespread, after nearly 80% of GMs said in 2024 that teams were cheating. Do you believe rule-breaking is widespread?

Our surveys in 2024 and 2025 revealed most general managers felt the rules were being broken by some teams. This year, multiple GMs responded "no" to rule-breaking being "widespread" but said it is still happening: "Salary cap audits have become the norm," according to one GM who doesn't think there is much cheating happening anymore.

The NWSL promised regular salary cap audits following the 2024 sanctioning of Angel City FC for salary cap circumvention. Angel City was fined $200,000, had two team executives suspended from player transactions, and -- in a first for the NWSL -- was docked three points in the league standings. One GM agreed that these corrective actions have reduced rule-breaking. Others disagreed that the NWSL has curtailed cheating -- "There are a couple teams that you wonder how the hell they're doing that," one GM said -- but another was more pointed.

"When an agent says, 'Well, how can you beat this offer? And this is what we've been offered.' It's like, we can't because we're not going to cheat. And I won't say the names, but one day that club will get caught, and this is the third time I've seen it this year."

A different general manager was almost complimentary of teams that find creative solutions, while another said that there are teams trying to solve problems that are not rectified quickly enough by the league.

"Any time there is a salary cap, that means that there is a rule, which means there is a loophole. I think the teams that are able to build the best roster, find the loopholes, and exploit them, and benefit from them before the loopholes close, and then another rule gets put in its place. And then the ones that stay ahead and can anticipate or find those loopholes will benefit."

Another GM pointed the finger at a perceived lack of consistency from the league: "I'm more concerned about the league granting exceptions to certain teams and not to others. So, it's not rule-breaking if the league says it's OK." They continued: "My job is to figure out how to fight as close to the sun as possible without actually breaking any rules. That's my job. So, when I find a path that doesn't break any rules, and then the league comes back and says no ... that's what people are pissed off about."

9. Which rule is broken the most?

Several variants of answers to this question all pointed back to salary cap circumvention (with one GM taking the question very literally about in-game rules). Examples of accusations offered include inflated marketing deals for players with team sponsors, side deals on transfers to lower the fee, and giving jobs to players' spouses (who have no cap restriction).

Tampering -- illegally speaking with under-contract players to recruit them -- is also a problem, according to two GMs. One was involved in multiple tampering investigations this year and feels the rules lack clarity: "I know agents are kind of that go-between, but I actually believe there's probably more clubs speaking to players than there should be."

10. If you could change one league rule, what would it be?

Five general managers said they would increase the salary cap or add more spending mechanisms, such as bringing back allocation money. One GM pointed out that players currently making $100,000 are asking for triple that in their new contracts, and the salary cap isn't keeping up.

"I think we will be very far behind if we don't increase it at a greater rate than what is currently laid out," a different GM said. "You can look at this summer window as a really good example. Quite honestly, this window's been very underwhelming with players coming into the league."

One GM disagreed, however, stating that the constant tinkering from the NWSL is a problem. "I feel like every year we get some new version of some cap raise rule: marketing dollars, additional work dollars, high impact dollars, whatever that may be, and I think for some owners they're like, 'Hey, we signed this CBA. Why are we changing every single year?'"

Another GM offered a creative solution for cap management and increasing player salaries: "I think with the addition of free agency, an unintended consequence is that it's harder to incentivize loyalty, especially as teams have to spend more money towards attracting the star player. So, I would love to see some kind of loyalty concession," they said, such as salary cap relief for re-signing a veteran.

11. If you had to pick one initiative for NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman and the board of governors to prioritize above all, what would it be?

Youth development was tied for the most common answer, with one GM saying the league does a "miserable job" at it. The league has since announced Meghan Frey as the new senior director of pathways and development, and the new player development rule (PDR) that was first reported by ESPN in September could also help clubs develop young professionals -- but one GM argued that PDR is only "a drop in the bucket."

Several GMs urged Berman and the board to prioritize the NWSL's on-field product, which they said is suffering. According to one GM: "I think the quality on the pitch compared to five years ago is not good... We've gone to 16 teams, we're going to 18 teams, and the quality's taking a hit here," adding they want "a task force to increase, protect, maintain quality on the field."

The declining quality of refereeing was also brought up by multiple GMs across different questions in our survey.

12. Do you agree with the NWSL's decision to stick to the current spring-to-fall schedule through at least 2030, or should it have flipped to a fall-to-spring schedule like MLS is doing to align with Europe's schedule?

In April, ESPN reported intense boardroom debate over a proposal to shift the start and end of the league's season to begin in the fall and end in the spring. The union opposed the move, and the NWSL board of governors eventually tabled the vote and committed to sticking with the current schedule for now. Most general managers agreed with keeping the calendar as is for now, with the season starting in late winter/early spring and ending in November.

However, several said that the calendar would likely still flip in the future, and many said there are too many unanswered financial questions. One GM said that it would have taken some clubs 15 years to break even on the necessary investments, such as heated fields and indoor training facilities, if the league season went from fall to spring. GMs also worried about the negative impact on attendance.

Dissenters argued that flipping the calendar is better for players' health, and that summer tournaments regularly disrupt the season. One GM said it was "ironic" that the league is kicking off the 2027 season in February, anyway.

"That's the hardest part: You're just skipping out for a while in the summer, and then expecting everyone to come back, and it's never the same. There's way too many smart people talking about the same thing every single year, and that's one of the ways that you get rid of that."

Four different GMs said that the NWSL should wait to see how the change affects MLS.

13. With a new cup featuring clubs in the NWSL and USL Super League in the works, would you support adding an interleague competition for the NWSL?

ESPN first reported in May that the U.S. Soccer Federation was planning a cup competition between leagues. We asked GMs about the potential competition before it was confirmed. Earlier this month, U.S. Soccer announced that it would begin in 2028 as a single-elimination tournament featuring NWSL and USL Super League teams. There is a prize pool of over $1.7 million, and the winner will earn a berth to the Concacaf W Champions Cup.

The competition would at least be part of the solution toward providing more players with meaningful minutes, several GMs said. One went as far as saying that there should be "governance" requiring teams to play young players in a cup.

Another GM was supportive but said that international competitions should be the priority. Several GMs on both sides of the debate said that rosters must be expanded to support more games, and one said there should be a five-year plan to launch the competition and guarantee minimum standards.

"In a league that's as competitive as this one -- different from England, France, Germany and Spain -- you would probably have a different winner in every competition," said one GM who supported the idea, referencing the NWSL Shield, NWSL Championship and the new Crest Cup.

Another general manager said that midweek games are already a problem, and that is the only time that cup games could be played. Another GM raised the question of prize money and added: "If it's not going to be commercially viable, then it's not competitively viable."

14. This season, Liga Femenil's Club America beat two NWSL teams to win the Concacaf W Champions Cup. In last year's GM survey, Mexico was ranked sixth out of eight leagues when we asked GMs to rate top global leagues. In light of recent results, are the best Liga Femenil teams better than the best NWSL teams?

In last year's annual survey, most GMs ranked the NWSL as the best league in the world, and the Mexican league toward the bottom.

Then in May, Club America defeated Gotham FC 4-1 in the Concacaf semifinal and then defeated the Washington Spirit 5-3 in the final to win the regional event and qualify for the 2028 Club World Cup. Gotham lost the third-place game to Pachuca 3-0.

Still, most GMs did not feel Mexico's best clubs are better than the elite NWSL teams.

One GM said that the best teams from Mexico would be fighting for playoff berths in the NWSL, with a colleague adding that "if they were to come into our league and have to play at the intensity at which our games are every single week," they would not compete for the NWSL Shield.

A third GM said that they still have a "hesitation" about signing players from Mexico because players who have transferred to the NWSL from Mexico have not thrived.

Two other GMs said that the top few clubs in Mexico are competing thanks to "unsustainable" spending. One of them said the best NWSL teams are just as good at "a fraction of their cost."

There were measured views even among skeptics: "You'd have to say they're catching up based on recent performances, but I think you need a bigger sample size," one GM said.

One of the two GMs to answer "yes" said: "I'm happy for them, to be honest. I'm happy for our region." They added that a strong Northern Super League in Canada would make Concacaf even more competitive and help teams compete globally.

The other general manager to say "yes" felt that any other response would be "American exceptionalism." The GM noted NWSL champion Gotham also failed earlier this year to reach the final of the inaugural Women's Champions Cup, FIFA's precursor to a Women's Club World Cup.

"I just think it's disrespectful to think that they're not better than the best of us. The reality is, Gotham lost to f---ing Corinthians [in the semifinal]. Why do we think we're so f---ing good on an international scale?"

15. You can swap rosters with one team. You must trade their entire roster of players for your entire roster of players. Which team are you choosing?

Gotham earned consistent praise for being "the only team in the league that has a full squad of that next-level player," as one GM put it.

Utah, the surprise team of 2026, got two votes because of the harmony established within the roster: "I actually think how they've gone about building the roster and the balance of it ... I'd like to get my teeth into that group of players."

And as one GM who picked Kansas City put it: "Who's saying no to Temwa Chawinga?"

Only one GM declined to entertain this question, saying they wouldn't trade their team.

16. At the start of the 2026 NWSL season, only three of 16 head coaches were Americans, and only four were women, consistent with trends through the years. Do you believe the NWSL has a duty to develop more American and women coaches?

"Any women's league in the world has the duty to develop female, and especially your country's, coaching staff," one general manager said.

Another GM said that duty is on the league headquarters as well as individual clubs.

"Why do I hear GMs and head coaches in the league saying NWSL has a duty? What the f--- are you doing in your club? Because you have more influence than the NWSL does to control your environment. Get American and get women coaches on your staff, not just coaches, in all positions around your building."

A prevailing theme among GMs is that the U.S. Soccer Federation carries some or most of the burden in improving coaching education. Those who answered "no" felt that "duty" was too strong a word for the NWSL's role.

"I think the federation has a duty," one GM said. "For sure, the NWSL can support that, but I don't think the NWSL should be the ones thinking they can drive that because you have to have the number of coaches qualified to be able to coach in the league."

Another GM pointed out that U.S. Soccer's Pro License course accepts only about a dozen people annually and has a demanding schedule. Another echoed that and estimated that only about 30 coaches in the country with Pro Licenses (men or women) are "women's soccer coaches" who have experience in the space. The pool is too small and "falling woefully behind," a third GM said.

A fourth GM called this a global issue. There are more men from men's soccer coming into the women's game because women's soccer has evolved rapidly, they said.

Multiple GMs said they would be against having any kind of gender-based quotas.

17. Rapid fire: Fill in the blank

Each general manager survey ended with a rapid-fire round in which they were given open-ended questions and were free to finish the sentence however they wanted.

A. The next great player in the NWSL will be ...

Twelve of 16 votes went to Americans in this question. One GM said defender Jordyn Bugg "can be the next Naomi Girma."

A GM who chose Claire Hutton said, "She's already great, but she's going to become a legend." And a different GM said something similar about Croix Bethune, who has "the capacity to be a superstar."

B. The next great coach in the NWSL will be ...

"It's hard to look past Juan Carlos Amoros," one GM said, with another adding that "the man is already a legend where he can leave and focus on his family" and Gotham keeps winning. Amoros took a six-week parental leave in the summer and left his assistants in charge.

Bev Yanez, the 2025 NWSL Coach of the Year who is out of contract at Racing Louisville, "has a high ceiling," one GM said.

Another praised Boston's Filipa Patao for doing more with less: "I think they have one of the worst rosters I've seen in a long time, and I think she's doing a great job. They're developing the players. They're developing the team."

Notably, the Houston Dash fired Fabrice Gautrat shortly after these surveys. Milan Ivanovic (Kansas City) is the only assistant coach to receive a vote.

C. The best captain (or leader) in the league other than my own is ...

Gotham FC and USWNT defender Emily Sonnett (who suffered a season-ending injury in July) earned the most consistent praise, with one general manager comparing her style to "the Roy Keane era" of on-field generals.

"You see that in her, and how that then gets spread in the team," a second GM said. "It might be not the leadership for everybody, but like it's one that, you clearly see her mindset is being spread in the whole group, and definitely I think that helps the team be where they're at."

Utah's Mina Tanaka earned praise because "she stuck with it when they were in down times," and another general manager praised Royals captain Kate Del Fava for "her whole demeanor and how she interacts with her own team and opponent."

D. Which would you rather win: shield or championship?

The team with the most points in the regular season (30 games this year) wins the NWSL Shield. Almost anywhere else in the world, that team would be called the champion. But the NWSL is an American league, so that term is reserved for the squad that wins the NWSL Championship, the final of a three-game playoff.

"Championship every day," one GM said confidently.

A different GM said: "The shield is harder to win, period, than a three-game tournament. But we're paid to win championships, so the championship."

E. Five years from now, the NWSL will be ...

F. The best player in the world right now is ...

Most GMs backed three-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí despite how much time she missed over the past year due to injury.