Hot on the heels of last week’s news of a new collective bargaining agreement between the NWSL Players Association and the league that will grant free agency to all players — and also eliminate the draft, prohibit transfers without player consent, increase profit sharing and more. On Monday, the players association released the first list of players who will soon be eligible for free agency.

The list includes big names, including Angel City FC forward Christen Press, who just returned to the field for the regular season after a long rehab from her ACL injury, Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, hero of the USWNT during the Olympics, North Carolina Courage forward Kerolin, who was voted MVP last year, and Orlando Pride forward and women’s soccer legend Marta. The initial list includes 88 players – but the final number may change in the next few days.

The NWSL free agency window opens Sept. 1 — but there are still a few days left for NWSL teams to exercise enforceable options for 2025. The list provided by the players association on Monday did not include any players whose 2025 contracts still have options — whether enforceable or not — on them. (Under the terms of the previous CBA, some contract options became mutual options, meaning both the club and the players had to agree to the extension, but not all.)

The union chose Monday as the reason for its announcement. In the USA, that day is Women’s Equality Day, a day in honor of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

“On Women’s Equality Day, we celebrate the pioneers who fought tirelessly for the right to vote,” said Tori Huster, president of the NWSLPA. “They laid the foundation for rights like free agency, which gives players freedom of choice similar to the right to vote.”

Under the new CBA, players become full, unrestricted free agents when their contracts expire. Under the previous CBA, ratified in 2022, players had to have a certain number of “years of service” to be classified as restricted or unrestricted free agents. That entire system has now been abolished, and every new player entering the league now enters as a free agent.

Due to the timing of the new CBA, which came into effect on July 30, the NWSL’s competition calendar for 2024 has been adjusted. Free agents will now begin on September 1. In future years, the NWSL will follow the global standard of allowing free agents to begin negotiations six months before the expiration of their current contract, meaning the window will be pushed back even further.

The new CBA received public praise from league stars such as Trinity Rodman of the Washington Spirits.

“The pay and everything else is great and I think that’s really important, but I would say the thing I like most is that you can’t get caught off guard,” Rodman said Sunday.

“This is our life,” Rodman said. “People have families and kids and have to change their whole lives from one day to the next. I think it’s scary and crazy and I don’t think anyone should have to do that. Of course, this is sports and there are businesses and you have to move, but at the same time, as a human being, you have to be able to process all of that to be your best. So for me, that’s hugely important.”

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(Photo: Katharine Lotze / Getty Images)