The bar has been raised.
Last year, the news on the NWSL was that it had officially outlasted the two previous attempts at US women’s professional soccer, the WUSA and WPS. This year, the league has substantially raised the bar from mere survival.
Not that the NWSL’s offseason was free from drama. The championship-winning Western New York Flash was sold and moved to North Carolina. Some players of all ages opted to go overseas. Commissioner Jeff Plush surprisingly stepped down in March, one month after announcing a deal with A&E Networks, and some aspects of that deal (particularly streaming of games that aren’t on cable) seem unsettled just a couple of days before league action kicks off Saturday. The league’s managing director of operations, experienced soccer executive Amanda Duffy, presided over Wednesday’s preseason conference call and has an expanded leadership role while owners seek a new commissioner.
And the league’s big offseason deals won’t suddenly propel the NWSL to “major league” status in the sports-saturated USA. The minimum salary has increased to $15,000, and the league will have weekly games on cable network Lifetime, commonly known (and often ridiculed) as a haven for over-the-top dramatic films on family horrors.
The league is still a low-cost, salary-capped league, which seemed to frustrate Orlando coach Tom Sermanni.
“For the first two, two and a half months in preseason, we were trying to do things and virtually getting nowhere,” Sermanni said. “I was beginning to wonder if we’d be able to make any changes to our roster. Then we started to make some trades and get a few things moving.”
But that minimum salary is more than double the minimum from the past year, and it’s well ahead of the wages minor-league baseball players are suing to raise. And the Lifetime deal isn’t some time-buy on whatever channel the league could find – it’s a game-changing partnership that brings in more money and more exposure for league and network.
And the Flash’s move to North Carolina is the only relocation in league history. Every other club – seven that played in the inaugural season of 2013, plus two expansion teams – remains healthy, a major improvement over the constant reshuffling in WPS.
Also, for all Sermanni’s concern early in the preseason, his team went out and signed Brazilian superstar Marta.
“I’m excited to see her,” said Portland coach Mark Parsons, whose Thorns host Orlando in the league’s first game on Lifetime this Saturday. “I’m not excited to see her Saturday.”
(Parsons was not on the conference call when Sermanni revealed that Marta wasn’t likely to have her visa paperwork cleared in time to play Saturday.)
So in season five of the NWSL, here are five stories to watch, each in some way indicative of the raised expectations of the league:
1) A new level of broadcasting
Through last season, the NWSL’s TV deals were an exercise in minimalism. Each team committed to getting its home games streamed on YouTube, but some streams looked and sounded more like a high school AV club’s work than a professional sports broadcast. The league managed to get a handful of late-season and playoff games televised – on ESPN’s networks in 2014, on Fox’s networks the other three years.
This year, the league will have a Game of the Week, every week, on Lifetime. And the partnership goes deeper. Lifetime’s parent company, A&E Networks, has invested in the league as a sponsor and a partner in a new media venture that has already revamped the league’s official site.
How much of a game-changer is that deal?
“Very much so from a brand awareness, league profile and commercial standpoint,” said Boston general manager Lee Billiard. “Something the league has needed in order to keep moving forward.”
The league is racing against time to announce how viewers can see every other game online and on an app that has not been revealed. Duffy assured reporters on Wednesday’s calls that all games, including the opening weekend’s full slate of five games, will be available for viewing free of charge, domestically and internationally.
2) Emerging talent
This league has not been kind to rookies, particularly attackers. But Rose Lavelle will start her NWSL career on the heels of an outstanding four-game debut stint with the US national team. She was the first of the Boston Breakers’ four first-round draft picks.
“Rose is still a young player, she still has a lot to learn and it’s important she is allowed to develop and not felt to be put under pressure to act on behalf of all rookies and their contributions to the league,” Billiard said. “We are excited about Rose now and for her future.”
The best-case scenario for the Breakers would be to duplicate the success of the Western New York Flash (minus the sale and relocation) over a two-year span. The Flash had four first-round picks in 2015, all of whom had productive sophomore seasons as Lynn Williams won the Golden Boot and the MVP award on the way to the league championship.
Second-year offensive players to watch this season include Cheyna Williams (Washington) and Rachel Daly (Houston).
3) New players for the US pool
Lynn Williams, Kealia Ohai (Houston), Megan Oyster (Boston) and Casey Short (Chicago) have all played their way into the national team picture, and their timing is perfect. Not only is the national team in the lull between major tournaments, with the next World Cup more than two years away, the new US women’s collective bargaining agreement gives coaches more flexibility to call in players.
Hard-core fans love making the case for their favorite players to get national team time. Now it’s easier for a player who impresses US coach Jill Ellis to get the call.
4) NWSL players organizing
The US women’s labor deal includes passing references to the NWSL as well as a salary structure for the players under contract with the federation, which covers their national-team and club paychecks. But the league itself is not party to the deal.
The boost in the minimum salary is surely a good start, but with the NWSL on firmer footing, players are expected to organize this year to speak with one voice on everything from hotels to fields.
“We’re aware there’s an ongoing dialogue between players of whether to form a union or organized group,” Duffy said. “By natural growth of the league … the formation of some sort of organized group would naturally happen. But we continue to have a great relationship with the players.”
5) A wide-open race
Western New York was a surprise winner last year. With a core of young players that stayed mostly intact as the team moved to North Carolina, they’ll be a contender again. But winning two dramatic playoff games is not necessarily a guarantee that things will go swimmingly for the rebranded North Carolina Courage this year.
The Portland Thorns, benefiting from big crowds and shared infrastructure with the MLS Portland Timbers, return a deep, talented roster, and coach Mark Parsons is well aware of the pressure at the beginning of this season after last year’s shocking semifinal exit.
“This is an elite environment,” Parsons said. “This is an elite club. … A good start for me is a performance that shows we’re hungry and shows that last year hurt.”
FC Kansas City welcomes the return of forwards Sydney Leroux and Amy Rodriguez from maternity leave. Seattle, a bit unlucky to miss the playoffs last year, still has a solid roster and master coach Laura Harvey. Orlando, not an easy opponent as an expansion team last year, adds national team defender Ali Krieger. And Marta.
Washington, a mere 30 seconds away from the championship last year, could surprise with better chemistry after an offseason shakeup. And then there’s Boston, which is hoping for a bright future but not too unhappy with where they stand now.
“There are 10 teams that can win the championship,” Parsons said. “It’s extremely competitive, and that shows the great commitment coaches, players and clubs are giving to our teams.”
And Parsons, who has been involved with the league since its debut, seems pleased with how things are going in the office as well.
“Hashtag-Duffy for commissioner,” Parsons quipped.
