The Washington Spirit are set to make their second consecutive NWSL championship appearance on Saturday. All eyes will be on Trinity Rodman’s availability for the title match and beyond.
Rodman is set to become a free agent after the 2025 NWSL season concludes with the title match between the No. 2 seed Spirit and No. 8 Gotham FC on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, FOX) at PayPal Park in San Jose, California. Although NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said: ‘We want Trinity (Rodman) in our league and we will fight for her’ on Thursday, it remains to be seen if the NWSL can compete with the salaries offered by European leagues overseas.
Could the the NWSL championship be Rodman’s last in a Spirit jersey? Will Rodman be the next American soccer star to leave the NWSL for Europe, following the departures of Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma?
As questions swirl about Rodman’s future, the 23-year-old said she’s focusing on the present, recovering from a Grade 1 MCL sprain suffered on Oct. 15 amid an injury-riddled season.
“Right now, my head’s completely down. It’s been so distracting being injured and that’s all I can really think about,” Rodman said Nov. 15 following the Spirit’s 2-0 semifinal win over the Portland Thorns. “Once we get this championship, then I can start making decisions and figuring out what next year looks like for me.”
Rodman made her first appearance of the 2025 postseason during the Spirit’s semifinal win, subbing in at the 90th minute. She almost scored during the 95th minute, but her shot narrowly missed wide. Rodman had been listed as questionable for the quarterfinals and didn’t play in the Spirit’s win over Racing Louisville FC despite being listed as a reserve.
‘It’s important to get those minutes to see (and) to feel that you are a player again on the field,’ Spirit coach Adrián González said on Nov. 15. ‘We didn’t want to take too much risk obviously in terms of minutes, but I think she’s been doing a great job trying to push recovery and being able now to have the opportunity to get some minutes.’
Rodman was the youngest player to be drafted into the NWSL when the Spirit selected her second overall in the 2021 NWSL college draft. Rodman not only led the Spirit to the club’s first NWSL title in 2021, she ended her first season with NWSL Rookie of the Year and first-team honors.
Rodman signed a contract extension in February 2022 with the Spirit through the 2024 season with an option for 2025. It was reported Rodman’s contract extension included $1.1 million guaranteed, making her the highest paid player in NWSL history at the time.
‘We do not believe the NWSL is a charity. We believe it is a business, and in order to treat it like a business, it means that the amount that our teams are investing has to have a rational relationship to revenue,’ Berman said. ‘When we go through that process of reviewing the overall ecosystem and the value proposition that we’re offering to top talent and to our players, and we’re looking at the amount being invested in training facilities, in stadiums, in compensation for players, we have to look at it in the context of where our business is at.’
Rodman reiterated on Thursday that she’s made ‘no decisions’ on her future yet.
‘Yeah, there could be conversations being had, but right now I am so excited to be representing the Spirit,’ Rodman added during championship media day on Thursday. ‘I’m not even thinking of when my last game will be. I just want to win it and then we’ll see.’
The Spirit will have to go through Gotham FC in the 2025 NWSL Championship. Gotham may have entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, but they’ve been on a Cinderella run and played their way into the title match. They have a chip on their shoulder after being labeled the underdogs of the playoffs.
‘I feel like everyone as individuals play so much better when they’re really confident and we have something to play for and something to prove,’ said Gotham midfielder Jaedyn Shaw, who has scored two playoff goals and assisted on another in the postseason. ‘So I mean, if that’s where we’re getting it from, then shoot, we’re going to keep saying it. We’re going to keep doing what we need to do, because haters going to be wherever we are and that means we are doing something right.’
The Spirit are vying for their first title since 2021. Gotham is looking for its first championship since 2023.
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