On August 22nd, 2024, U.S. sports changed forever. On that day, the National Women’s Soccer League and its Players Association (NWSLPA) announced a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that would eliminate the college draft and all other drafts from the league.
By inking that CBA, the NWSL became the first-ever major U.S. professional league to abolish an existing college draft system. That new CBA is set to be in place until 2030.
Many U.S. sports fans and NWSL fans are used to seeing the college draft as a high point of the offseason and a way to drive interest in new players ahead of the upcoming season.
So, what will this first offseason and transfer window post-CBA look like? And, how will clubs go about signing players from the NCAA?
Let's break it down.
How Will Signing College Players Work?
The answer is quite simple. College players are now free agents and will operate the same as any out-of-contract player. They will be able to field calls on contract offers and talk to all 14 NWSL clubs without restrictions.
The only thing to keep in mind is that a college player must have graduated or must forgo their remaining college soccer eligibility if they wish to sign in the pros. For example, a freshman or sophomore cannot sign a pro contract and continue to be a student-athlete.
We have already seen two top NCAA prospects sign their first free-agent deals: Trinity Byars of Texas and Quincy McMahon of UCLA. Both players had completed four years of college soccer, and were in their senior years.
Curiously, both signed with the San Diego Wave, which tells you something about that club's strategy and forthrightness to move ahead with negotiations with players leaving the NCAA.
SD, meet quincy mcmahon 🫶 pic.twitter.com/SNUazyPJDT
— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) December 13, 2024
How Did it Work Before?
Before the new CBA, players leaving college had to register for the NWSL Draft to be eligible for the league. If they didn't, they had to wait an entire year before they could come back and play in the NWSL. Many went to play in Mexico or Europe as an alternative to the draft system.
The new CBA is a huge shift of power from the clubs to the players. Young players can now control their destiny and select where they want to play. In the old draft format, NWSL clubs were essentially assigned players, and those players then had to go play for those clubs, demand a trade within the NWSL, or go play abroad.
Clubs must now perform wider and more thorough scouts on players because top talent will not just fall to them in the draft. Furthermore, the competition for a player's signature could be much higher. We could see higher starting contracts for top college players entering the league.
56 players were drafted in 2024, with 42 of those players then signing contracts. It would be surprising if many more than 42 college players were signed in the new free agency format in 2025. The number will likely be somewhere between 28 and 45 players.
What About the Parity of the NWSL?
Before, the worst team in the previous season would receive the number one pick and be allowed to select the presumed best player coming out of college soccer. Now, that is not the case. It's a free-for-all.
Money, contract length, location, style of play, cultural fit, and playing time will likely be the biggest deciding factors for why a player will sign somewhere. If a club is ambitious enough, they could go out and sign the presumed "top three picks" from the incoming college players.
Of course, keep in mind that the NWSL still has a salary cap. Which will be set at $3.3 million in 2025 and is slated to rise incrementally to $5.1 million by 2030. So, the best college players will have to figure out their market value and negotiate around the league.
“The draft is an antiquated model,” said NWSLPA president Tori Huster. “Now, Players can choose the team environment that fits their needs and maximizes their opportunities. Teams will need to step up to create environments that appeal to Players.”
This first class, in 2025, will be uncharted waters. Which could be a benefit or a disadvantage. The league minimum contract a player can sign is $48,500 per season. Only a handful of rookies have been getting deals beyond $100,000 per season.
Croix Bethune has graduated from her rookie year with honors 👑
— Washington Spirit - x (@WashSpirit) December 9, 2024
In just 17 matches…
✨ Rookie of the Year
✨ Midfielder of the Year
✨ NWSL Best XI
✨ NWSL record 10 assists
✨ 5 goals
✨ Olympic Gold Medalist pic.twitter.com/LKG7yUnehN
What Are the Key Dates to Know?
Friday, December 13 — The NWSL transfer window opens, teams can sign college players, free agents and make transfers with other clubs.
Friday, December 20-26 — Transaction moratorium will shut down all league business for seven days, no players can be signed.
Friday, December 27 — The transaction moratorium ends and NWSL clubs can once again sign and trade players, including college players.
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 —The European transfer window opens, which will expand potential options for both college players looking to talk to clubs and NWSL teams looking to make trades.
Friday, January 31, 2025 — The European transfer window shuts, NWSL teams can continue to do business until April.
The NWSL Draft used to take place in the second week of January during the United Soccer Coaches conference. There's a good chance that somewhere around that window, the league creates a sort of 'signing day' event that still tries to drum up some excitement.
While there is no official date right now, the common thought is that sometime around the middle of January is when plenty of these new college players will be signed to clubs. A player may agree to terms with a team at any time when the league window is open.
When pre-season starts at the beginning of February, there will also be handfuls of recent college players who accept a trial spot on the pre-season roster and will compete for a contract in training camp.
The NWSL season is expected to start around mid-March, with the schedule being released sometime in February. This has not been confirmed by the league but has been the trend over the past few seasons.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Will the NWSL Offseason Work Without the Draft: Explained.
