With historic new CBA in hand, Kansas City Current prepare in Florida for NWSL season
Talk about close calls.
With a delayed start to the season looming, the National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association agreed on a collective bargaining agreement through the 2026 season.
The new CBA, struck on Monday, means the Kansas City Current and players with other teams across the league were able to report for training camp as scheduled this week.
“Players will report to preseason camp tomorrow with the safety, security, and protections of a collectively bargained contract that sets NWSL on a positive trajectory for the future,” NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke said in a statement. “This is a historic moment not only for our sport and our League but for all working people who stand up and stand together.”
The new CBA certainly covers some historic ground for women’s pro soccer.
It sets the league’s minimum player salary at $35,000 — a nearly 160% increase from 2021 — and introduces free agency beginning in 2023 for players with at least six years of service time. It also includes player health and safety provisions, including a guaranteed six months of paid mental health leave, if needed.
In Kansas City, where KC Current owners Angie and Chris Long and Brittany Matthews have worked to instill a player-first approach in all aspects of the club they founded in December 2020, the news was welcomed with open arms.
“We purchased our team a year ago and have committed to delivering for our players, club and city,” co-owner Angie Long said. “This CBA represents a league-wide partnership between owners and players to deliver on our shared mission of building the greatest league in the world.”
Newly hired Current coach Matt Potter is excited the league’s players are finally receiving workplace protections he called “long overdue.”
“It’s a great opportunity for the players,” he said. “It was long overdue, and long deserved. It’s an exciting time to now go write a new chapter for the women’s game here as a professional player.”
With protracted CBA negotiations behind them, Potter is excited to get his group of KC players together for workouts. The team is holding preseason training and scrimmages in Florida.
While there, Potter is looking forward to seeing the second-year Current forge an identity for the 2022 season and beyond. The club is building its new look around the championship-level pedigree of marquee offseason additions Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams.
“Any great sports team has a great spine, in terms of the profile and identity that you want to build,” Potter said. “It’s going to take a squad mentality for us to achieve our goals. Everyone is going to have an opportunity, and everyone should be preparing as such.”
Opening camp Tuesday, the Current announced the return of three veteran holdovers as part of the team’s preseason roster: Taylor Leach, Kate Del Fava and Jaycie Johnson all return with contracts for the 2022 season.
Here’s the roster with which the Current will prepare ahead of their March 18 NWSL opener:
Goalkeepers (4): Kelsey Dossey (NRI), Adrianna ‘AD’ Franch, Carly Nelson (LOAN), Kayla Thompson (NRI)
Defenders (8): Elizabeth Ball, Kate Del Fava, Brookelyn Entz (NRI), Taylor Leach, Alex Loera, Izzy Rodriguez (CDP), Mallory Weber, Jenna Winebrenner (CDP)
Midfielders (10): Chardonnay Curran (CDP), Kristen Edmonds, Lo’eau LaBonta, Chloe Logarzo (NYR), Hailie Mace, Addie McCain, Sam Mewis, Maddie Nolf, Victoria Pickett (NYR), Desiree Scott
Forwards (6): Mollie Belisle (NRI), Elyse Bennett (CDP), Kristen Hamilton, Jaycie Johnson, Lynn Williams, Michele Vasconcelos (LOAN)
Key: CDP, 2022 college draft pick; LOAN, player on loan; NRI, non-roster invitee; NYR, not yet reported.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "With historic new CBA in hand, Kansas City Current prepare in Florida for NWSL season."