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Trinity Rodman Signs Record-Breaking Contract With Washington Spirit

The Washington Spirit have re-signed Trinity Rodman to a record three-year, $2 million annually contract.

Rodman, 23, is a part of the U.S. Women’s National Team and was a big piece of the team that won the Olympic gold medal. Rodman is now the highest-paid female soccer player of all time. Aitana Bonmatí of Barcelona was previously the highest-paid player. The deal was negotiated by her agent, Mike Senkowski of Upper Sports Group.

This contract will keep Rodman in Washington until at least 2028 and prevents her from going abroad for a lucrative contract. “I’ve made the DMV my home and the Spirit my family, and I knew this was where I wanted to enter the next chapter of my career,” Rodman said after signing the contract.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman vetoed a contract offered by the Spirit, which included a backloaded four-year contract that would have paid Rodman more than $1 million a season. Berman saw it as an attempt to circumvent the salary cap. The NWSL Players Association filed a grievance over the move.

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The new “Trinity Rodman Rule,” also known as the “High Impact Player” rule, now allows clubs to go over the salary cap by $1 million to sign high-performing players.

Rodman has played five seasons in the NWSL, scoring 33 goals and adding 21 assists in just 109 games. Rodman won the NWSL championship in 2021 and won the 2021 NWSL Rookie Of The Year award.

Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang had high praise for Rodman, saying, “This agreement reflects our belief that elite talent deserves elite commitment.”

Rodman now has her eyes set on the Australian Open, as her boyfriend, Ben Shelton, ranked the world’s eighth-best tennis player, is in the third round of the tournament.

Sam Lanier

Senior at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Arizona State University

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