Trinity Rodman Becomes Highest-Paid Women’s Soccer Player – Pay Equity
Trinity Rodman isn’t a businesswoman—she’s a business, woman (or whatever Jay-Z said). And business is booming, okay?!
the 23-year-old forward just signed a three-year deal with the Washington Spirit worth over $2 million annually, making her the highest-paid women’s soccer player on the planet.
The deal is historic not just for the dollar amount (we can’t ignore that the dollar amount is looking real nice, though), but for what it represents: a seismic shift in how women’s soccer values its stars. Getting hear, though, exposed tensions between the Spirit, the league’s salary cap system, and the players’ union.
Back in november,Commissioner Jessica Berman shut down Rodman’s initial contract with the Spirit, saying it violated “the spirit of the league.” The proposed deal was backloaded to work around the league’s $3.5 million salary cap, wich would’ve eaten up nearly a third of the team’s entire roster budget. Instead of figuring out how to pay their biggest star what she’s worth, the league said no.
Rodman,like many Black women in her position,wasn’t backing down. Her team filed a grievance, and at the same time, European clubs were ready to pay her what the NWSL said was unachievable. Faced with losing their star, the league suddenly had options they claimed didn’t exist before.
In December, the NWSL created a new “high Impact player”
