National Women’s Soccer League Releases Full 2023 Competition Guidelines

NEW YORK – The National Women’s Soccer League today released the 2023 Competition Manual. The full manual is available here.

Each team has a minimum of $1,975,000 available to spend on a 22-26 player roster for the 2023 season. This includes the $1,375,000 salary cap plus $600,000 in Allocation Money. Unused Allocation Money from 2022 may also be carried forward to 2023. The new spend marks a 25 percent increase from the 2022 campaign.

Introduced in 2019, Allocation Money is financial credit that a team may purchase within limits defined by the league each year or acquire from another team through a transaction. Allocation Money may be used to reduce the salary cap impact of a player’s salary, pay a transfer fee or loan fee when acquiring a player outside the league, or trade to another team.

Introduced in 2022, the NWSL established a new entry mechanism for players under the age of 18 wishing to enter the league. With the consent of the player and their parent or legal guardian, teams may place eligible players on an Under-18 Entry List to be selected under the following criteria:

Each team is limited to two Under-18 players between its senior roster and the Entry List;

Players must be signed to a guaranteed contract within 30 days of being placed on the list and the contract term must run through the season in which the player turns 18;

Players will occupy a full roster spot;

Players may be placed on or called up from the list at any time during the season;

Players may not be waived or traded until the player has turned 18 or the team has received consent from both the player and parent or legal guardian;

Players may not be selected in the expansion process;

Players must reside with a parent or legal guardian until their 18th birthday;

Players must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Under-18 Entry List slots are not tradeable.

Information regarding the NWSL Expansion Draft will be available at a later date.