How the KC Current signed Temwa Chawinga to ‘amazing’ new contract
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- Temwa Chawinga’s new KC Current deal runs through 2029.
- Chawinga’s new deal guarantees at least 12% of the $3.7 million NWSL salary cap.
- The Current used the High Impact Player mechanism for Chawinga, effective Wednesday.
It took almost half of 2026 for the Kansas City Current to sign star goalscorer Temwa Chawinga to a new contract under the NWSL’s High Impact Player roster rule.
As investment has soared in women’s soccer — along with the sport’s popularity — the last few seasons, competition for the best players in the world has become fiercer than ever. NWSL teams have lost stars, including United States Women’s National Team players, to clubs in leagues without a salary cap, mostly in Europe.
Last January, Chawinga signed an extension to stay in Kansas City through 2028.
Her new deal, announced Monday, goes through 2029, and allows the team to pay part of her salary outside of the league’s $3.7 million salary cap. Teams can go over the cap by up to $1 million under the new mechanism. Chawinga is KC’s first-ever player to meet the criteria.
The move keeps the two-time MVP and two-time Golden Boot winner in Kansas City for the long-term.
“She is probably the best player in the world, and we’re thrilled to have her here in Kansas City,” general manager Ryan Dell told reporters Tuesday. “As we’re celebrating the World Cup, we have great players here all the time. I think we live with one in this building, and that’s Temwa Chawinga.”
First-year head coach Chris Armas has been around some of the best men’s soccer players in the world in his playing and coaching career as a National Soccer Hall of Famer. But he is constantly in awe of Chawinga’s work ethic and humility.
“It’s incredible. It’s very uncommon,” Armas said. “Normally, the more goals you score, the more fame you have, the more money you make. It sometimes doesn’t hit you in the right way. But for her, it makes her work even harder and more humble. And to share the ball, it’s very uncommon, very fortunate. That, for me, shows her ceiling.”
Chawinga is the second star in her family to sign a contract of this magnitude. Her older sister, Tabitha, is a forward for perennial French champions OL Lyonnes. She often leans on her sister for advice, and sent her sister the deal just to make sure everything was in order.
“It’s OK, you can stay if you want to stay there,” Chawinga’s sister told her.
The Current approached the Malawi national and her agent in late January about a new deal, finalizing the details in early June, Dell said.
“(It was) so amazing because my agent worked so hard for this contract,” Chawinga told reporters, adding she chose to stay because of how comfortable she feels with the team and city.
It’s a future Chawinga couldn’t have seen growing up in Rumphi district of Malawi.
“When I was growing up, we don’t know, like, professional or not, because I was just playing for fun ...” she said. “So I didn’t know whether I’d be here ... in the USA to play in big leagues like this or just playing for fans. So my sister pushed me a lot back home, like when I was young. She pushed me a lot to try my best, to do it. So I’m really happy. The way she pushed me is paying back now.”
The league’s HIP rule drew criticism from players for being implemented in January without negotiations with the NWSL Players Association. They filed a grievance against the league over the rule in January.
The mechanism, intended to attract and keep star players in the NWSL, was approved by the league’s board of governors in December. It has already been used on the Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman and San Diego Wave’s Catarina Macario, two USWNT stars.
Current owners Angie and Chris Long said they are in favor of any way they can attract and keep the best players in the world in the league and in Kansas City.
“I think that changes, a little bit, the economics of what we’re able to pay players in our league,” Angie Long told The Star. “Probably doesn’t change the global landscape. I think, in a way, this is enabling us to keep up with the global landscape.”
Chris Long told The Star he is pleased with the league’s direction under the league’s board of governors, citing the new teams coming in Atlanta and Columbus.
“The really interesting thing about the board of governors today, is it’s a lot of like-minded owners,” Chris Long said. “The level of investment has changed dramatically from when we first entered the league back in 2020 and that like-mindedness is (a desire) to invest in players.”
As investment continues, the outcome will be more life-changing contracts in a league where players used to play games on high school fields and change in woodsheds.
Chawinga began this season with a hip injury that caused her to miss Kansas City’s last match last year, a first-round playoff exit to eventual champion NJ/NY Gotham FC. After missing the first four games, she is currently second in NWSL scoring with seven goals and two assists.
The sixth-place Current had almost a month between games for the World Cup break, which ends when the team faces Gotham on Friday at 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio, for the NWSL Challenge Cup.
With Chawinga secured, the Current feels even more equipped to continue its pursuit of chasing trophies with the best players in the world.
“No matter what it may be, contract, no contract, it was already like maybe in my mind, we have big games coming up,” Chawinga said. “So just show up to perform well. ... The season didn’t start well, but we are going in good shape, so we’re looking forward for that.”
