The Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign FC play in a preseason tournament at Providence Park. Photo by Jeff Wong.
The Women’s Professional Soccer League (2009-2012) and Women’s United Soccer Association (2000-2003). Two failed women’s pro-soccer leagues unable to come back after their third season. These leagues were plagued by money problems, poor television ratings, and attendance issues. However, their successor, the NWSL, has broken this unlucky pattern in 2016 as it begins its fourth season. Though the NWSL still struggles with many of the same issues as its predecessors, it is likely to succeed where the others have failed.
For the second time in its history the NWSL will be adding an expansion team bringing the total number of teams in the league up to ten. This year’s club, the Orlando Pride, is already showing the promise of being a top team with players such as Alex Morgan, Kaylyn Kyle, and Ashlyn Harris to name a few. They also have the former USWNT coach Tom Sermanni joining as head coach for the club and are set to play in the Citrus Bowl. This should give the Pride attendance figures similar to that of the Houston Dash, and potentially that of the Portland Thorns.
Along with the Houston Dash and the Portland Thorns, the Pride will be the third team in the league which shares ownership with an MLS team. Two other teams in the league have stadium agreements with MLS teams. The Chicago Red Stars are set to play at the Chicago Fire’s Toyota Park and FC Kansas City will be playing their home opener and one other game at Children’s Mercy Park, home of Sporting KC. These relationships allow teams to share resources and tap into existing soccer fan bases which helps promote attendance, especially with teams that are cross-marketed.
Though attendance varies wildly across the league, from an average attendance of just over 2,200 (Sky Blue FC) per match to over 15,000 (Thorns), the 2016 season should continue the pattern of growth established last season. The promising expansion team and the continued pairing of NWSL teams with MLS ownership groups should help maintain average attendance and therefor profits during the time that many of the marquee players will be participating in the Olympics. Looking at the same pattern experienced by the league after the 2015 Women’s World Cup, there will also most likely be an attendance bump following the Olympics once players return to their league clubs.
However, along with these successes the league still struggles to maintain viability as it tries to account for the wide disparity of profitability across the NWSL. Teams that are paired with a MLS team are able to share some of the operational costs. This means that expenses for the stadium accommodations, marketing, training staff, etc. vary greatly across the league, especially with the tight profit margins that many teams face.
The profitability of the league also relies on the ability to get matches televised to a larger audience, with the hope of attracting lucrative sponsors. So far the league has relied on streaming their games on YouTube, with a limited game coverage on ESPN in 2014 and Fox Sports in 2015. As of yet no announcement has been made as to whether or not any games will be televised for the 2016 season. This does not mean that games won’t be televised. As in previous years, matches were only televised in the second half of the season. However it does lend an air of uncertainty over the season.
Another unfortunate reality for a league still struggling to remain viable is that they have to operate within a modest salary cap of $265,000 per team, with non-national team players making between $6,000 and $37,000. This of course excludes national team players whose salaries are covered by their national soccer federations. In a World Cup, or Olympics year such as 2016, the implication is that the league will once again rely on unpaid amateurs in order to fill out their rosters. This huge disparity in wages is an unfortunate reality of a young league.
These draw-backs are not insurmountable. The league is structured for survival after learning from the two previous leagues’ mistakes. Though the wage structures are sometimes galling, they are there for a reason, making sure that the league survives as the others have not. The NWSL getting ready to start their fourth season is a good indication that the current plan is working. The league has many of the best players in the world, and continues to attract world-class talent, as the Portland Thorns recent signing of Amandine Henry will attest.
Overall, this league has broken the third year curse as it continues to expand, becoming more profitable and sustainable. As more and more supporters now come to matches to cheer on their specific club rather than just the big name players, the NWSL has become a women’s pro-soccer league that rivals the best in the world.
UPDATE: The NWSL has updated their roster rules. The salary cap is now set at $278,000. The minimum salary a player can make is $7,200, and the maximum salary a player can make is $39,700. The NWSL has also announced that they have an agreement with FOX Sports for 2016. FS1 is set to air three regular season matches, as well as three playoff matches. They will start airing games in September, after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Boston Breakers in a preseason match 2016. Photo by Kari Heistad.
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