Forward Maria Sanchez entered the 2023-24 offseason as a restricted free agent—she could negotiate with other teams but her originating team, the Houston Dash, would have the opportunity to match any external offers and keep the attacker on their roster. In December the forward signed a three year contract with a fourth year option reportedly worth $1.5million, which at the time made her the highest paid NWSL player. Now just four months later, ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf reports that the forward has requested a trade from the Dash ahead of the primary trade/transfer window closing on Friday. 

Should a trade not occur by Friday, Sanchez will be stuck in Houston at least until the secondary window opens August 1st. Additional reporting has confirmed that Sanchez requested the trade at least two weeks ago ahead of Houston’s win against expansion side Bay FC. The Dash currently sit 11th in the table with only one win and one draw in four matches. 

Part of the NWSL CBA has verbiage that player’s salaries will not be disclosed to third parties by the NWSL or its teams without written consent of the NWSL Players Association. This means that although Sanchez’s new total compensation was reported back in December, there is no transparency on where any of the 14 teams sit in terms of the salary cap and whether they could afford Sanchez if they are in fact looking for an additional attacking player before the window closes. 

Outside of her salary fitting into an NWSL team's salary cap, the other issue that Sanchez will run into is that although the NWSL trade/transfer window does have five days until it closes, a lot of other leagues are not in an open window so the options for Sanchez outside of the NWSL are fairly limited if she wants to move immediately.

Related:

Houston Dash Roster Outlook

Houston Dash Transactions

Way ahead of the October deadline to exercise options on potential free agents, here’s six restricted free agents to keep an eye on in the coming months for extensions to be signed as teams look at their long term plans. 

Reminder, unrestricted free agents are more like a traditional free agent, whereas restricted free agents can negotiate with other teams but then the originating team has seven days to fiscally match the offer and keep the player on their roster.

However, if an originating team does not make an offer to a restricted free agent before December 31st of the calendar year, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. 

Here’s six players to keep an eye on, in alphabetical order:

1. Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash)

Status: Contract through 2024

Alozie went undrafted in the 2019 NWSL Draft, and proceeded to sign with a team abroad for the 2020 season before Covid-19 ended the season early. She ended up in Houston as an NRI in the 2021 preseason and eventually was signed to a National Team Replacement Player (NTRP) contract before being signed through the end of the season. Since then, she has had an important role for the Dash, and in 2023 played over 1000 minutes with four goals, and one assist. She is also on the Nigerian National Team, and helped the Super Falcons’ run to the round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA World Cup. 

2. Elyse Bennett (San Diego Wave)

Status: Contract through 2024, with club option for 2025

Bennett spent the 2023 season with the Reign, and played in 22 games with seven starts, two goals, and two assists, She ended up unprotected in the 2024 Expansion Draft and was picked up by Utah as their first pick. Two days after the Expansion Draft, she was traded to the San Diego Wave. Bennett got the start for San Diego in the 2024 Challenge Cup Championship that they won 1–0.  

3. Alana Cook (Seattle Reign)

Status: Contract through 2024

Originally joining the Reign on a short term loan for the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup from French side Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Cook ended up transferring to the Seattle-based side in 2021 on a three year contract with an additional option year for 2024. In 2023, Cook started 21 matches for the Reign, and had 34 interceptions and 16 blocks. Cook joined the USWNT in New Zealand and Australia for the 2023 FIFA World Cup, and started in the send-off match but didn’t see any playing time during the tournament. After a minor knee injury in the Reign 2024 preseason, Cook was replaced on the USWNT roster for the Concacaf W Gold Cup. She missed the first two matches of the 2024 regular season, but is currently building her minutes back up and played 32 in the latest game for the Reign. 

4. Jordyn Huitema (Seattle Reign)

Status: Contract through 2024

Although only 22, Huitema is on her fifth season as a pro and her third in the NWSL. Joining the Reign from PSG, the Canadian National Team forward played in 23 games in 2023 for Seattle including 17 starts and earning five goals. Standing at 5’11”, Huitema is an aerial threat, with three of her 2023 goals coming from her head and an overall 58% aerial duel success. She had an 82nd minute diving header for Canada to equalize and force penalty kicks in the Concacaf W Gold Cup semifinal. In the 2024 SheBelieves Cup Final on Tuesday, Huitema got the start for Canada but ended up subbing off injured in stoppage time in the first half. 

5. Kerolin (North Carolina Courage)

Status: Contract through 2024

The reigning NWSL MVP, Kerolin had 19 starts for the Courage in 2023, with ten goals, three assists, and a 79% passing accuracy. The big question on the Brazilian national team forward’s future is the ACL tear which occurred in the final game of the 2023 regular season. The ACL epidemic has been rampant in the last few years, and while some players have been able to fully return to play in less than a year, others have taken almost two years to recover. If Kerolin is healthy, it could easily become a bidding war to add such a dynamic player to any teams’ attack. 

6. Delanie Sheehan (NJNY Gotham)

Status: Contract through 2024, with club option for 2025

After only playing in nine matches for Gotham in 2022, Sheehan became a pivotal part of the Gotham revamp in 2023 playing in 21 games and over 1500 minutes. She had a 78% passing accuracy with two assists, and her goal against the Courage in the first round of the playoffs aided Gotham’s postseason run. So far in 2024 Sheehan has played in every minute of all of Gotham’s games between the 2024 Challenge Cup and their two regular season matches.

Related:

NWSL Transactions

Way ahead of the NWSL October deadline to exercise options on upcoming free agents, here’s nine potential unrestricted free agents to keep an eye on in the coming months for extensions or options exercised as teams look at their long term plans. 

Reminder, if an option is not exercised—either mutually or by the club depending on type—before the October deadline, players are free to begin negotiations with other teams.

Here’s nine players to keep an eye on, in alphabetical order:

1. Janine Beckie (Portland Thorns)

Status: Contract through 2024

Beckie signed with the Thorns back in 2022, and was really finding her groove with the squad in their run up toward the 2022 NWSL Championship. The Canadian national team midfielder tore her ACL in preseason play in 2023, causing her to miss the entirety of the 2023 season and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. 366 days post injury, Beckie returned to the pitch, scoring two goals in the season opener against Kansas City. Although she is still building up her minutes toward 90, Beckie has been instrumental in the Thorns build-up thus far this season. 

2. Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave)

Status: Contract through 2024

Coming off a 2022 SEI (Season-Ending Injury), Dahlkemper rejoined the Wave midseason in 2023 and easily fit right back in with the squad, playing a single half in her debut in a 2023 Challenge Cup match before playing 90’s in the remaining six matches for San Diego, and even scored a goal against Orlando. In 2024, she’s already played every minute for the Wave and her pairing with USWNT defender Naomi Girma already aided San Diego in winning the 2024 Challenge Cup. Dahlkemper made her return to the USWNT in December and has gotten consistent call ups since then. 

3. Debinha (Kansas City Current)

Status: Contract through 2024 with a mutual option for 2025

Debinha was the biggest move of the NWSL’s first foray into free agency in the 2022-23 offseason, and with more teams, and a higher salary cap, she’s a prime target for Kansas City to lock down to avoid a bidding war. In her first season with the Current, the Brazilian national team midfielder scored nine goals and had two assists while earning three monthly Best XI selections and a nomination for NWSL MVP in 2023. Debinha injured her hamstring on opening day, but her return to play is expected after the April FIFA window. 

4. Marta (Orlando Pride)

Status: Contract through 2024

The Brazilian national team midfielder might have announced that the 2023 FIFA World Cup was her last World Cup, but her eyes remain firmly on the upcoming Paris Olympics and her season with Orlando. She’s already started the 2024 season off with a bang, getting the 88th minute equalizer against Angel City in their second match of the new season. Marta has been with the Pride since 2017, and last season became the first player to hit over 100 appearances for the club. She’s a six time FIFA World Player of the Year and current captain of the Pride, so it’s very likely that the Pride gives her an extension for as long as she wants to continue playing.  

5. Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave)

Status: Contract through 2024 with a club option for 2025

Easily one of the most recognizable names in women’s soccer across the world, USWNT forward Alex Morgan was one of the first players that San Diego acquired as an expansion side, and won the NWSL Golden Boot in the team’s inaugural season. In 2023, Morgan started 19 matches for the Wave, with seven goals, and five assists. This season Morgan has had the game winner in the 2024 Challenge Cup, as well as the assist for San Diego’s 98th minute game winner against the Reign last weekend. As one of San Diego’s franchise players, it will be important for the Wave to keep Morgan in San Diego for future seasons. 

6. Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Status: Contract through 2024

Naeher has long been the starting USWNT goalkeeper and last season captained Red Stars in her 20 regular season starts, during which she made 80 saves. Additionally, last season she broke the NWSL record for regular season saves when she surpassed the then-record of 519 saves and she additionally became the first goalkeeper in the NWSL to record 150 regular season appearances. Chicago struggled last season, finishing at the bottom of the table, but new ownership, a new general manager, and a new coach have started the Red Stars on a 3 game unbeaten streak to start off 2024. In the three matches, Naeher has already tallied nine saves, and only allowed two goals against—the lowest number of goals against for the teams which have played three regular season matches. 

7. Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage)

Status: Contract through 2024

The Ireland national team midfielder has been with the Courage since 2017 when she was signed by the club off the waiver wire having been released by the Houston Dash. She was named the captain ahead of the 2023 season where she was also named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team. She had 21 starts for North Carolina in 2023, was an instrumental part of their midfield, creating 17 chances, and only was subbed off twice in the entire regular season. This past offseason, she was linked with interest from several WSL (Women’s Super League - England) clubs. 

8. Christen Press (Angel City)

Status: Contract through 2024

Press was the first player added to the expansion side Angel City FC’s roster ahead of their inaugural 2022 season, and the contract reportedly made her one of the highest-paid players in NWSL history — at the time of signing. She currently holds the record for most results changing 85th minute or later goals in the NWSL at five alongside Sam Kerr. In 2022, she only played in eight games before tearing her ACL, and the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time, as Press’s 2021 form was immaculate, and she was the bright spot of the Angel City attack. Unfortunately the road to recovery for the injury was not easy. Four surgeries later, Press missed the entirety of the 2023 season as well as the chance to join the USWNT at the FIFA World Cup last summer. She is currently back training with the LA-based side full time and has posted herself doing lateral movement on grass in cleats, one of the milestones on her way to being game fit. 

9. Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns)

Status: Contract through 2024 with a 2025 club option 

Weaver might not be the Thorns leading goalscorer, but she is absolutely pivotal in her role in and her pairing with Sophia Smith in the Portland attack. In 2023 Weaver started all 22 regular season matches as well as the semifinal, scoring seven goals and getting four assists. She was additionally named to the NWSL Best XI of August. The current season seems to be more of the same, with Weaver having scored the 52nd minute goal against Louisville last weekend to start a Thorns comeback. Weaver has played in every single minute of the Thorns’ season thus far. 

Note: 

Sophia Smith would’ve been on this list but her contract was extended last week through 2025 with a player option for 2026. The first ever player option in NWSL history. 

Related:

NWSL Transactions

The Portland Thorns today announced that forward Sophia Smith had signed an extension with the club through 2025 with a player option for 2026. This is huge for the Thorns as Smith was going to be a free agent at the end of the season without the extension in place. It is also the first time that a contract option has been announced as a player option and not a club or mutual option. 

Smith is the youngest MVP in NWSL history as well as the reigning Golden Boot champion. In a team release Smith stated, “I’m excited to call Portland home and extend my time with the Thorns.” Last year she accounted for over 25 % of all of the Thorns regular season goals as well as assisting in an additional 12%.

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world class talent and one that we are excited to have contributed to the team’s continued success,” said Head Coach Mike Norris in a team release. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

As the Thorns top offensive contributors and the current face of the franchise, it was important for the Thorns to lock down Smith into a longer contract to avoid the potential bidding war of free agency or the allure of Smith playing abroad in Europe. The player option for 2026 does definitely leave the door open for Smith to head across the pond in the future.

With the NWSL regular season underway and no shortage of chaos and excitement in every single match, now’s the time to look at how roster’s evolved over the last four months of the offseason. The 2024 offseason was unique in the fact that for the first time, the NWSL’s version of free agency would come into play during an expansion year, and the dreaded expansion draft.  

In a normal year, there would likely be slightly more returners per team, but this season there’s only an average of 18.25 returners per team for the 12 squads from last season. Angel City, North Carolina, and Orlando round out the top all with 21, while Chicago had the fewest returners on their first matchday roster at 14. 

Understandably, expansion sides Bay FC and Utah are composed mostly of players picked up from the NWSL expansion draft, trades, and free agency. Bay was also the most active team in getting teams from abroad at seven, while Portland was second at five – three of which were defenders. After having the third most goals scored against them in the league last year, Portland’s focus on defense comes to no surprise. Even though reigning NWSL Champions NJNY Gotham FC had a large number of returning players, they were also the team most active in the signing of additional free agents, and had seven additions, two more than any other returning squad.

The 2024 NWSL Collegiate Draft saw 56 players drafted to NWSL sides prior to preseason starting, 40 of those ended up signing with squads for the upcoming season. Utah and Washington both led the charge signing five each, while Chicago and Bay both had four in close second. Washington and Chicago are both coming into the season with new coaches and the high number of draft signings indicates just how the new staffs plan on moving forward.  

Although preseason rosters are often stacked with non-rostered invitees (NRI’s) attempting to earn one of the 364 active roster spots in the league, this offseason only 10 signed. Bay FC and Chicago both had two, while six squads didn’t end up signing any. 

A more in-depth part of the returning players analysis was done by Dr. Arianna Cascone below by looking at the percentage of minutes played returning per team. 

As you can see, on top of having 21 players return, both Angel City and Orlando also had 77.8% of their 2023 minutes played return to their squads. Chicago, who felt another offseason exodus of free agents— losing six —is the only squad below 50% on the chart. All this being said, Chicago is also the only squad who started off the regular season with two straight wins. Only time will tell if general managers and coaches have the right mix of players, culture, and tactics to win the NWSL Shield 24 games from now.

Related:

NWSL Transactions

NWSL 2024 Draft Tracker