NWSL to amend transfer rules to facilitate deal for Chelsea superstar Sam Kerr

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

The National Women's Soccer League is set to amend its newly created High Impact Player (HIP) rule to make signing global stars like Chelsea striker Sam Kerr easier.

In late 2025, the NWSL announced a landmark change in the wake of protracted contract negotiations between USWNT forward Trinity Rodman and her club, the Washington Spirit.

Rodman's deal was expiring, but the Spirit were not able to offer her a new contract that truly reflected her value due to not having enough salary cap space available. She received lucrative offers from Europe and even from nearby USL Super League club DC Power.

The NWSL, which was desperate to keep Rodman and eventually took charge of the negotiations, created a workaround in order to remain financially competitive with Europe's non-capped top divisions.

The HIP rule permits clubs to pay up to $1 million over the cap on marquee players that fit one of a very specific - and slightly odd - set of criteria. However, the league is already preparing more changes to make signing stars easier.

NWSL to scrap HIP criteria

According to The Cutback, the NWSL is planning to do away with the criteria and will instead freely allow clubs to choose their High Impact Players. This seems to be the logical next step.

Currently, one of the following has to be true to qualify as a High Impact Player:

Player is on SportsPro Media Top 150 Most Marketable Athletes within the one year prior to the current league season

Player is selected in the Top 30 in Ballon d’Or voting in the two years prior to the current league season

Player is selected in the Top 40 of the Guardian Top 100 football players in the world in the two years prior

Player is selected in the Top 40 of ESPN FC Top 50 football players in the world in the two years prior

Top 11 minutes played for the USWNT in the prior two calendar years for field players for all competition types

Top one minutes played for USWNT in the prior two calendar years for goalkeepers for all competition types

Player selected as NWSL MVP Finalist within the previous two league seasons

Player selected to the End of Year NWSL Best XI First Team within the previous two league seasons

Chelsea superstar Sam Kerr, who has been heavily linked with a return to the NWSL this summer, is not eligible for a HIP contract after being sidelined for 20 months with an ACL injury and only returning to action at the start of this season.

Her contract with the Blues expires this summer, and an extension is thought to be unlikely. Kerr married former USWNT midfielder Kristie Mewis at the turn of the year. Their son, Jagger Mewis-Kerr, was born in May.

Mewis hails from Massachusetts, which has given rise to speculation that Kerr could be on her way to expansion club Boston Legacy. However, she previously stated that her next club should be based in a "hot and beachy" location.

The 32-year-old is the NWSL's all-time leading goalscorer with 77 goals. Despite her legendary NWSL career, Kerr still has unfinished business in the league, as she never won the championship during her time stateside.

She claimed the NWSL Shield (best regular season) with the Western New York Flash in the league's inaugural campaign in 2013 but lost the final to the Portland Thorns. In 2019, she reached the showpiece again, this time with the Chicago Red Stars, but again came up short, losing 4-0 to the North Carolina Courage.

Earlier this year, Kerr's former Chelsea teammate Catarina Macario was signed to a record-breaking contract by the San Diego Wave using the HIP rule. The Brazil-born US international is believed to be the highest-paid women's footballer ever.

Kerr's return to the NWSL would be similarly seismic. It will be interesting to see how the HIP rule evolves in the future because this new amendment is unlikely to be the final revision.

The HIP rule was criticised by the NWSL Players Association due to its unilateral implementation. Generally, all changes relating to the salary cap or players' earnings need to be ratified by the NWSLPA.

The union's calls for a higher overall salary cap, rather than specific exemptions, have been ignored. The cap currently stands at $3.5m and is due to rise to $5.1m incrementally until the expiration of the current bargaining agreement in 2030.