Staff Writer Isabel Moon-Parry explores the developing drama between two American women’s football leagues: The USL Super League against the National Women’s Soccer League.
Establishment versus up-and-coming rebels, a tale as old as time both within sport and outside, is a story that is taking on new life in American soccer as two top division professional women’s leagues took to the field at the same time this autumn. American sport has a long history of two professional leagues battling it out against one another at the same time. But every single time, the competitor league has always folded or merged into the established league, the most notable examples being the NFL-AFL merger in 1966 and the National League-American League merger in baseball in 1903 to form Major League Baseball.
The USL Super League President, Amanda Vandevoort, insists that there shouldn’t be comparisons between the two leagues and that they aren’t in competition.
The Establishment: Its Incredible Highs and Significant Lows
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), one of the richest and most widely watched women’s sporting leagues in the world, was established in 2013 as the third iteration of a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) sanctioned Division I soccer league in women’s football. The American league has arguably had more success than some of its European counterparts.
The NWSL has seen some of the world’s best players on its pitches, including Ballon d’Or winning Megan Rapinoe and Brazil’s Marta. The high quality of play was proven when this year’s NWSL Championship Final between Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit saw a higher US TV viewership figure (967,000 viewers) than the men’s Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Final between LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls (427,00 viewers).
Off the field, the NWSL’s finances continue to grow with the league’s latest expansion franchise and its 16th team, Denver, set to join the league alongside Boston’s BOS Nation FC in 2026 having paid a reported $110 million according to The Athletic. The league’s healthy financial status was proven when in July of 2024, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife purchased a majority stake in LA-based side Angel City FC, bringing the clubs’ valuation to $250 million.
The NWSL has also seen major success in the sale of its TV broadcasting rights in recent years, with its most recent deal signed with CBS, Amazon Prime, ESPN, and Scripps Sports lasting for 4 years starting in 2024. The deal, according to ESPN, is valued at $240 million across all four seasons, increasing from the $4.5 million deal previously in place with CBS.
The American league has also shown its willingness to compete with European sides in the rapidly expanding women’s transfer market. It was San Francisco’s Bay FC who broke the then world transfer record when they purchased Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for a reported £685,000 less than a year ago.
However, the NWSL’s history isn’t without its fair share of controversy, most notably the 2021 abuse scandals which resulted in the USSF commissioning the Yates Report by former US Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates.
The Competitor: The USL Super League
On the other side of this conflict between leagues you have the United Soccer League’s (USL) Super League, announced in 2021 initially as a Division II league, it would be the first professional women’s league under the leadership of the USL. The organisation also runs the USL W-League, a pre-professional league that began play in 2022 and is composed of 80 teams across its 3 conferences.
In 2023 however, the USL Super League changed its plans from applying for Division II status from the USSF which would have placed it a step below the NWSL on the US Soccer Pyramid, to instead apply for Division I status. This status was confirmed as having been granted by US Soccer in February of 2024.
The Athletic reported that to be granted Division I status by the USSF a league must satisfy the criteria of playing in stadiums that can hold a minimum of 5,000 spectators, that the principal owner of clubs in the league must have an individual net worth of at least $15million, and that the combined net worth of ownership must be at least $25million.
The USL Super League penned a multi-year deal with Peacock and NBC, announced in June 2024, to broadcast all 115 of their regular season and postseason games on the platform. The exact finances of the deal remain undisclosed as does the exact length of the multi-year deal.
The USL Super League has also shown a willingness to setup franchises within media markets with pre-existing NWSL sides. One of these, D.C. Power, now plays at the Audi Field, where NWSL side Washington Spirit already play. The USL also established a team in the New York/New Jersey area, the nation’s largest media market, with Brooklyn FC, where NY/NJ Gotham FC already play.
How the USL Set Itself Apart
The USL Super League, unlike other American top division professional sporting leagues, announced that it would not have a collegiate drafting system allowing the league to better integrate into the global footballing transfer system. Amanda Vandevoort, President of the USL Super League, said “USL Super League players are global free agents unless they’re under contract,” in an interview with The Athletic.
Unlike the NWSL, the USL Super League operates on a fall to summer schedule with a midseason winter break in between. On this Vandevoort said that, “We believe participation in the global soccer economy in the future will be predicated on transfer window alignment.”
The USL Super League also marked a significant departure from the American norm as explained by Vandevoort who told The Athletic that “there’s no cap on roster size or combined player wages — that is, no salary cap.” The NWSL at the time of that announcement had a salary cap in place of $2.75 million combined per squad.
The NWSL Collective Bargaining Agreement
Soon after the USL Super League’s launch the NWSL reached an agreement with the NWSL Players Association (NWSLPA) for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that would last until 2030 and replaces the one signed in 2022.
The new CBA showed just how seriously the NWSL were taking the USL threat as it scrapped the Collegiate Draft system that the NWSL had used since its inception.
The importance of this new deal was highlighted by NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman who had this to say, “Our new agreement revolutionizes the game, raises standards, and innovates the business.”
The NWSL was also brought more in line with the global standard by granting unrestricted free agency, guaranteeing all contracts and that all future trades both, intra-league and inter-league, must receive player consent.
The CBA increased the combined salary cap for teams from the previously established $2.75 million to $3.3 million in 2025. The cap will continue to increase and by the end of the deal in 2030 is set to reach $5.5 million.
Individual salaries were also affected by the new CBA with there being no maximum salary for individual players and an increase over the course of the CBA of the minimum salary from $48,500 starting in 2025, rising to $82,500 by 2030.
Bonuses for end-of-season competition awards are also set to increase by double their current amount beginning in 2027 while the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player award bonus will quadruple.
Additional changes were made to make players’ rights better with expanded parental leave and benefits as well as mental health policies being broadened.
The USL’s Struggles in its First Season
The USL Super League launched in August but has experienced a large drop off in attendance figures across the board since then. While Carolina Ascent’s season opener saw a sell out crowd their average attendance, which is by far the largest of any Super League team, stands at just 4,800 for the season so far.
Brooklyn FC, who experienced significant issues with their initial stadium was rendered as unplayable due to the turf being damaged beyond repair. The team have played their first games at Columbia University’s Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium which has a capacity of 3,500.
Five of the leagues’ eight teams have begun the season with an average attendance of less than 3,000 people with the overall average attendance for the league in the first portion of the season being 2,724 so far.
The NWSL in the 2024 season meanwhile, saw its highest ever league average attendance with 11,250 fans attending per game. The team with the most fans per game on average was Los Angeles’ Angel City seeing 19,313 at the 22,000 capacity BMO Stadium. That figure is just over four times more than the highest average attendance in the USL Super League, Carolina Ascent, and is higher than three Premier League teams (Bournemouth, Luton and Brentford) in the 2023/24 season.
Moving Forward
As of right now it would appear that the NWSL is winning the fight to be the dominant league for American audiences. Whether this continues moving forward will certainly be interesting to watch.
Collaboration may also be on the cards as USL’s Fort Lauderdale announced on February 7th that they would be playing the first ever USL versus NWSL game against NY/NJ Gotham FC in a friendly on February 26th. This will be followed by Gotham playing Tampa Bay on March 2nd.
The USL Super League will resume play on February 9th when Tampa Bay Sun FC take on Fort Lauderdale United FC.
The NWSL will start its 2025 season with its annual Challenge Cup, held between the winner of the NWSL Championship, Orlando Pride, and its runner-up and second place team in the regular season, Washington Spirit, on March 7th. The NWSL’s regular season will commence on Friday March 14th when Houston Dash take on Washington Spirit and Chicago Stars take on Orlando Pride.
