When Washington plays Chicago this Sunday in DC, “Rowdy Audi” will probably be full.
asserted
Audi → play → DC
It will also be full when the post-season starts, should they lock up their top-four position with a positive result on Decision Day.
asserted
they → start → Day
Equipped with an accessible stadium in a big city, a proud fanbase, and a formidable roster rife with players qualifying for the High Impact Player (HIP) rule’s initial criteria (including Trinity Rodman, who gave the rule its moniker), the Spirit hold sway in the attendance charts.
asserted
Spirit → equip → charts
But starting next season, everyone on the Spirit will qualify for the “Rodman Rule”.
asserted
everyone → start → Rule
Announced Friday, NWSL settled a grievance with the league’s Players Association, who argued that the initial criteria violated federal labor law.
asserted
criteria → announce → law
Admittedly, when the new policy arrived on the scene last winter, it appeared half-baked, a somewhat frantic attempt to keep Rodman from floating across the Atlantic and doing something terrible, like playing for Michele Kang’s London City Lionesses instead of Michele Kang’s Washington Spirit.
asserted
it → arrive → Lionesses
A rule was born to prevent that.
asserted
rule → bear → that
It allocated added funds beyond the salary cap for players who met league-set criteria which clearly prioritized international name recognition in a global market.
asserted
which → allocate → market
Qualifying players needed to meet one of eight categories including SportsPro Media’s top 150 Most Marketable Athletes (only Alessia Russo and Aitana Bonmatí placed in 2026, though 16 female football players did in 2025, including three in the NWSL at the time – Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Marta, in that order).
asserted
players → qualify → order
It also included ESPN’s Top 50, the Guardian’s top 100, top minutes on the US National Team, the Ballon d’Or’s 30-player list, or NWSL’s MVP and Best XI awards.
asserted
It → include → Team
Some measure of umbrage followed, as invested onlookers argued for a more simple solution: just raise the salary cap.
asserted
onlookers → follow → cap
And perhaps they should, but keeping an American-style sports league competitive in a global football landscape is less straightforward.
asserted
keeping → keep → landscape
The looming spectre of Europe’s super-teams, who have attracted key members of the USWNT starting XI, is ever present, waiting to take Croix Bethune away for the right amount of money.
asserted
who → loom → money
No doubt, the NWSL’s appeal is evident in its expansion and growth, in the success of its spine of stateside stalwarts, in its rapidly expanding dedicated facilities, and in the international talents such as Esme Morgan or Ann-Katrin Berger that choose to sharpen their skills in the US.
asserted
that → expand → US
However, the domestic sporting culture of the NWSL is somewhat at odds, in some ways a disadvantage, when it comes to maintaining its margins, with a stand-alone team structure in a parity-driven league, while competing for international glory with teams such as Chelsea, Lyon or Barcelona, who spend three times or more the amount that some NWSL teams do.
asserted
teams → come → that
While competing for status as the world’s go-to destination, for players and fans, glory hunting and name recognition do matter.
asserted
hunting → compete → players
Just look at the Ballon d’Or: Barcelona’s women took all but one of the awards available to them, though Alexia Putellas, who collected her third main prize, now plays in London.
asserted
who → look → London
That Putellas deserves her trophy is not in dispute, though the inequitable factors contributing to international accolades were manifest.
asserted
factors → deserve → accolades
Putellas starred for two super-teams: Barcelona and Spain.
asserted
Putellas → star → super
Ewa Pajor, Barcelona’s Polish striker, fell just short, perhaps edged out by only having one super-team to play for.
asserted
Pajor → fall → team
Subtly, it seemed, the original criteria for the HIP rule flirted with the idea of fostering a super-team in the US.
asserted
criteria → seem → US
Prior to the update, there was no cap on the number of players who could access the extra million if the salary cap was already met.
uncertain
cap → be → million
For a team like Kang’s in Washington, the door felt open, possibly, to building a team even more ready to contend with the heavy spenders in Europe (including those also funded by Kang), and the international accolades that go with it.
uncertain
that → feel → it
If a NWSL player lifted the NWSL trophy, helped win January’s inaugural Club World Cup, then performed well at the World Cup, could a second NWSL (active) player win the Ballon d’Or?
uncertain
player → lift → d’Or
The structure of the HIP rule remains in place.
asserted
structure → remain → place
Teams that have met 2027’s salary cap of $4.4m (£3.3m) in 2027 can spend an additional $1.257m (as reported by ESPN) on a player.
asserted
that → meet → player
The post-grievance difference is that teams can spend that additional sum on any player.
asserted
teams → spend → player
Gone are the stipulations mandating adherence to that eight-criteria list of global recognition.
asserted
stipulations → go → recognition
The change is a win for players that did not meet it, which includes elite players who fell short in previous seasons (such Ashley Sanchez) or star players with long-lasting or recurring injuries (Catarina Macario).
asserted
who → meet → injuries
It gives the NWSL’s individual teams the autonomy to decide which players are worthy, based on whatever criteria they see fit.
asserted
they → give → autonomy
And, with a cap on the number of players that can access it, it gives cash-strapped teams the theoretical ability to reign in teams with already-stacked rosters.
asserted
it → access → rosters
But the spirit of NWSL’s original criteria has more merit than many suggest.
asserted
many → have → merit
The NWSL is responsible for securing overhead issues such as an improved media rights deal, marketing marquee names to broadcasters, ensuring the league is seen as the go-to destination ahead of a World Cup and performing well in global cup competitions such as the Concacaf W Champions Cup (Mexico’s Club América prevailed in the most recent final) or the upcoming Club World Cup.
asserted
América → secure → final
With that in mind – plus the ever-pressing desire to keep USWNT players in the US – the original HIP criteria had its eye on awarding stardom as it’s seen in the global market.
asserted
it → press → market
It’s hard to measure, but impossible to miss.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Rodman did not make the Ballon d’Or shortlist and is not leading the Golden Boot race.
asserted
Rodman → make → race
But Rodman and her closest national team peers (including “Triple Espresso” compadres Mallory Swanson and Wilson) are the presumed stars of the NWSL.
asserted
Rodman → include → NWSL
Rodman, alongside Wilson (who clocked the Michael Jordan “shrug” celebration after scoring in the 2022 Championship final) have not just the skill but the personality flourishes reminiscent of Alex Morgan sipping the tea in Lyon.
asserted
who → clock → Lyon
The NWSL has yet to replicate the Morgan effect (think default attendance records and adoring away fans), but requiring that teams reward players with a certain je ne sais quoi in their international football fame was baked into the league’s original attempt at the HIP criteria.
asserted
teams → have → criteria
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email moving.goalposts@theguardian.com.
asserted
you → get → moving.goalposts@theguardian.com
…and 2 more, not listed.
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