Get To Know The NWSL Teams: All About The Women's Professional Soccer League And Current Rankings

4 min readBig news in women’s soccer: The National Women’s Soccer League just reached a major settlement with the NWSL Players Association to drop restrictive qualifications from its "high impact player" rule. Removing this so-called "Rodman rule" opens the door for any players in the league to get a seven-figure salary starting January 1, 2027.Under the previous guidelines—which remain in play for the rest of this season—only about 100 players met the requirements for the NWSL's highest pay tier. This new agreement allows any player to be designated as a "high impact player," with 12 percent of their salary counting against the team's salary cap, per ESPN.This new rule adjustment happened after the league previously rejected a high-paying contract proposal between the Washington Spirit and Trinity Rodman. Under the existing rule, the NWSL lost star American players Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma to European teams, where they received more lucrative offers, ESPN reports. Rodman has also received large offers from European teams—the rule change may encourage her to stay in the U.S.Pretty much everything about women’s soccer is booming. The league has a media deal with ESPN, CBS, Prime Sports, and Scripps’ ION network, reportedly worth $60 million a year, Reuters reports. The NWSL called it the "largest media investment in women's sports history." NWSL players are bonafide stars in their own right, with big names like Sophia Smith, Rodman, and Mallory Swanson earning lucrative sponsorship deals, too.So, if you're a newbie to the sport (or just looking to brush up ahead of the playoffs, which begin November 6), here's everything to know about the NWSL teams.How many NWSL teams are there? There are currently 16 NWSL teams. Each team is allowed a minimum of 22 players and a maximum of 26 players on their rosters, per Soccer Wire.The 2026 teams include:Angel City FC — Los Angeles, CaliforniaBay FC — San Jose, CaliforniaChicago Red Stars — Bridgeview, IllinoisHouston Dash — Houston, TexasKansas City Current — Kansas City, MissouriNJ/NY Gotham FC — Harrison, New JerseyNorth Carolina Courage — Cary, North CarolinaOrlando Pride — Orlando, FloridaPortland Thorns FC — Portland, OregonRacing Louisville FC — Louisville, KentuckySan Diego Wave FC — San Diego, CaliforniaSeattle Reign FC — Seattle, WashingtonUtah Royals FC — Sandy, UtahWashington Spirit — Washington, D.C.Boston Legacy FC — Foxborough, MassachusettsDenver Summit FC — Centennial, ColardoWhat are the current NWSL season rankings? And here’s a look at the 2026 season rankings, per the NWSL:Gotham FCSan Diego Wave FCWashington SpiritKansas City CurrentAngel City FCUtah Royals FCPortland Thorns FCSeattle Reign FCNorth Carolina CourageDenver Summit FCOrlando PrideBoston Legacy FCHouston DashBay FCRacing Louisville FCChicago Stars FCThe regular season ends on November 1, and the quarterfinal round starts on November 6. You can expect a new NWSL champ to be crowned on November 21.What is the average salary in the NWSL?There's a large range in salaries for the NWSL, but like everything else in the sport, they're on the rise. At the beginning of this year, the NWSL increased the salary cap to $3.7 million. By comparison, the cap was $1.375 million in 2023 and $2.75 million in 2024, per CBS. There is a little leeway with the cap, based on the rules that stand this second. Each team can exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million for "high-impact players," which are basically the best of the best. (NWSL has specific requirements listed out, including plenty of awards, playing time, and being selected to the USWNT. Again, this will change for next season) Only a minimum of 12 percent of the high-impact player's base salary counts toward the team's salary cap.The highest-paid player is Catarina Macario of the San Diego Wave FC, who signed a multi-year contract worth just under $8 million through 2030, per CBS Sports.The women are paid drastically less than men in the American Major League Soccer (MLS), however. For comparison, the MLS' highest-paid male soccer player is Lionel Messi, who makes about $28.3 million per year.The NWSL's top players typically make about $1 million to $2 million per year, but the minimum salary for the league is $48,500.Who owns the teams?The list of team owners in the NWSL may be as exciting as the games themselves.Los Angeles' Angel City is an expectedly star-studded club, with owners including Natalie Portman and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Other investors in the team include celebs like Serena Williams, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria, plus women’s soccer icons like Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Shannon Boxx, Lauren Holiday and Abby Wambach. Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany (a former soccer star herself) invest in the Kansas City Current,, and tennis champ Naomi Osaka invests in the North Carolina Courage.Korin Miller is a seasoned freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Everyday Health, Food & Wine, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University and lives by the beach.Jacqueline Tempera è un'affermata scrittrice e reporter che vive nel New Jersey con i suoi molti animali domestici. È un'imprenditrice e un doppio Scorpione che ama tutto ciò che riguarda l'astrologia e i reality. Si occupa della diversità e della rappresentazione del corpo, della salute mentale e della lotta per porre fine alle aggressioni e alle sofferenze sessuali. Per saperne di più su Jackie, seguila su Instagram @jacktemp o visita il suo sito web all'indirizzo jackietempera.com.