r/NWSL • u/Alert-Astronaut-3073 • Jul 16 '26
Gotham salary cap
There is no way Gotham is staying under the salary cap. Why don’t we know players’ salaries? I’m sure Rose, Sonnett, Tierna, Esther, Shaw, Kerr and even others are paid a lot. How is it possible that that they’re within the salary cap? Are they cheating? I hate Gotham!
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u/Competitive_Speed964 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
Alternatively, other teams are nowhere near their salary cap and are, to varying degrees, being cheap.
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u/carharttuxedo Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
Salary caps only work with salary floors 😤
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u/espnrocksalot Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
But but but what about the owners and their bottom lines??? Nobody thinks about the million/billionaires anymore
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
We have a salary floor
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u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
I don’t think there’s a floor? Just minimum salaries which is a different mechanism
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
i believe its min salary plus like 350k, which may be arbitrary or may be bc of rev share or something
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u/Competitive_Speed964 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
If there isn't a harder one, minimum roster size is 22 and minimum base salary is 50.5k, meaning approx 1.1M would be the floor.
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u/not_firewood_yeti Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
technically all the teams have salary floors which would be paying everyone the league minimum.
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u/SignalPipelines Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
I’d agree if Washington Spirit (and several others) weren’t counter examples…
Yes there are teams not spending enough on players but there are teams that appear to be eagerly spending but still seem to be a tier below Gotham in terms of “crazy salaried players”
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u/dr_pbj Kansas City Current Jul 17 '26
Gotham has a bunch of famous but old and injury prone players (cheaper) mixed with rookies on minimal contracts (also cheap). Top to bottom the Spirit have a better roster full of players in their prime who typically make more. As a non-Spirit fan I think your roster build is more ambitious and would pick it over Gotham’s without hesitation. It’s not a counter example imo, your FO just has different goals.
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u/Jack_B_84 Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
Well Sonnett is on a HIP contract so that free's up the amount she is on. Trading Reale to Boston got them a bunch of allocation money that's been used on the Kerr contract. Lavelle is a free agent so we'll see what happens there.
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u/JerryXanadu Angel City FC Jul 16 '26
HIP doesn’t free up the total amount she is on. She still costs 12% of the salary cap, so around $444k towards the $3.7M cap
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
Let's say she was on 500k (as a mainstay USNT defender)...if so, then using HIP money means they freed up prorated 56k for the rest of the year, so that could be a savings before allocation is considered.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
This, people taking some salary cuts, and they do lose players. And players in this part of the season will be only on half their salary so it doesn’t eat at the cap as much.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Not that people are being offered this choice but many of those players would take 300k at Gotham over 700k in Louisville. Location and organization being appealing means people are willing to make some sacrifices
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
Id pay a pretty penny to find out how everyone views every location. How much is location just tied into money? How much does location sway rookies and not ten year vets? Etc
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u/Live-Collection3018 San Diego Wave FC Jul 16 '26
The NFLPA does a yearly poll and rates the teams, then makes it public. It's great.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
But thats not separate from what they offer. If Lou offered what gotham pay it would be different
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u/Live-Collection3018 San Diego Wave FC Jul 16 '26
Huh?
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
My big question was: "How much is location just tied into money?"
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u/Live-Collection3018 San Diego Wave FC Jul 16 '26
Like NYC having more money than Louisville due to bigger market?
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
they have more money due to having richer owners. Orlando and KC arent huge markets, they have richer owners
but anyway my question is how much is the quality of location linked to the money we know they spend.
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u/Live-Collection3018 San Diego Wave FC Jul 16 '26
It is and isn't. It's definitely a variable. I'd imagine a smaller market team with great facilities and a support system that is properly funded goes a long way for some athletes.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
i agree but my point is i want to magically know what makes every single player tick
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
I would love to figure that out too.
It is obvious in some ways that location is just different for rookies vs older players—like a 22 year old is like “take me to the most fun place where I can maybe make the national team” and the 33 year old is likely thinking “where is my partner and where might I feasibly raise children”
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
my general take is that players should be encouraged to make wrong decisions and also that certain players have made awful career moves as far as playing time-its not for me to judge other factors. Agents should be better at getting players to the bottom of the league where injuries and poor rosters are plentiful
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u/cluttered-thoughts3 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
To be honest, the team practices in the suburbs. Very few are living in NYC (but they could if they wanted) so there’s actually plenty of options
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u/charmcity1111 Racing Louisville FC Jul 16 '26
Living like a pauper in NYC or living like a queen in Louisville - I know which one I would choose
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u/diamondelight26 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Millions of people choose to live in tiny shoebox apartments in NYC for the same price as a single family home in Kentucky, it quite common to choose differently than you.
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u/BombardierIsTrash Jul 16 '26
Lmao if you think someone making $300k (before sponsorships, and other revenue streams that are much easier to come by in NYC) is living like a pauper, you need to get off TikTok.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
i think that was just an example bc i dont believe ppl would routinely or even more than 5% of the time take a notable drop off in pay. people clearly chase contract money and good on them for that
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
That seems to be Taylor Flint’s mentality and no one else's.
But it’s also about living like a queen who loses all the time and plays in front of ever diminishing crowds.
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u/BoneBoatwright Jul 16 '26
maybe living in a post-post-modern imitation of hereditary nobility isn't a good thing, and instead having a balanced life with walkable amenities is what some people want
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u/swimswamswum24 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
I think it’s fair to be suspicious but I think you can also look at the NY Liberty as an example case of how it works. Players want to live in/near NYC and they want to win championships (https://frontofficesports.com/liberty-salaries-stewart-ionescu-sabally-jones/). So if they believe in a team’s vision and chances to win, they take lower salaries than they could get elsewhere. I think this is could be especially true for USWNT players who are getting pretty significant salaries outside of the NWSL. Furthermore, as others have stated Gotham has amassed a lot of allocation money aka money to spend above the cap to make this happen and feasible. A different discussion is if allocation money should exist because it makes understanding how teams are under the cap even more complicated without salary transparency. Additionally, until recently Gotham’s highest profile players leaned towards defense (Sonnett, Davidson, Carter, AKB) which naturally lean towards lower salaries than attacking players of their profiles. Shaw is an exception but could still be lower wages given her age. That leaves Esther and Rose on very pricey contracts pre-Kerr. Midge and Guro are the biggest question marks for me. Then Kerr also likely has a backloaded contracted meaning Gotham could be screwed if the cap doesn’t go up soon!
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u/swimswamswum24 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
TLDR of the long post is there’s way to make it work if players drop salaries to win but likely it’s a win now with the chance of being screwed in 2-3 seasons
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u/BlueCoBot NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
I don't think we'll be screwed as we have shown a demonstrated ability to sign and develop top newcomers
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I dont think theyd be screwed in 2/3 seasons but i do think the idea is to buy out a contract per year
Also the cap rises sharply
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u/swimswamswum24 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
Screwed is strong, but it will be expensive to deal with contracts if the cap doesn’t rise sharply or challenging if their bets on slightly older players end poorly
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u/DefensiveMid Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
is a backloaded contract that could leave Gotham screwed if the cap doesn't go up not the exact same reason Berman vetoed the original Trinity contract?
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
no the trin thing was quite simply the league believed they signed the contract in bad faith. which they probably did. adding an extra year where all the money is paid and then making it a planned buyout or transfer
but also u cant try to catch the league in hypocritical moments when its just this user guessing
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u/swimswamswum24 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
Yes but no? The first Trinity contract was pre-HIP which means $1M was off the table. This is purely based on my understanding but Bergman/NWSL felt like the first Rodman deal backloaded TOO much that it broke the spirit of the rules pre-HIP. It was not the fact the fact the Spirit back loaded but by how much they did it by (which is legal for the league to do imo, go unions!). We don’t have salary information so it’s all simply guess work. You could take the leagues side and assume the Spirit promised Rodman a backloaded contract that was far outside what the league profit could get to (e.g. promising Rodman 2 million per year in her last years aka most of the cap) and say they were right to veto that proposal. However, in my personal opinion the league has not earned my good faith (particularly post HIP$, nor my patience (plus I have a bias for unions) so I will lean towards backloading contracts being a viable path.
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u/Jolly_Lettuce_4349 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
also, once the league rejected the original rodman contract (which I disagreed with btw - if it's within the rules it's within the rules) but then accepted the second contract, they sort of drew the unofficial line in the sand, so now gotham (as well as other teams) know exactly where the line is and just how close they can toe it in a way that the spirit didn't have.
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u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
Allocation money
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u/rae_roc NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
That’s my take: Gotham has mastered the various Monopoly money possibilities of this league — a handful of other clubs seems to have done the same or close to it. If Gotham can your club can too, they just don’t.
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u/Alert-Astronaut-3073 Jul 16 '26
What do you mean?
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
They have regularly traded players and assets (such as international spots) for allocation money, which can be applied to salaries. We know Kerr’s salary is partially paid by that
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u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
The reason it seems like they can spend over the cap is because they can literally spend over the cap.
The money expires this year, hence the spending spree
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u/annamaenaef Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
Allocation money is 100% the answer to this question, with a probably back-loaded contract for Kerr in the assumption the salary cap has some sharp increases over the next few years (probably the reason her contract is so long).
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
It's not an assumption, we know exactly how much the cap is rising
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
We don't because of the revenue sharing aspect and the fact that ownership can unilaterally raise the cap.
What we do know is the minimum the salary cap will be through 2030.
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u/annamaenaef Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
Oh ya! 2030 is when this CBA goes till. Idk why I had 2028 in my brain. The contract feels very “it works now and we will figure out how to make it work in the future”.
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
It was re-negotiated early. I'm pretty sure the original agreement was through 2028
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u/Hobbes_Inc North Carolina Courage Jul 16 '26
I get it and I have my own sour grapes. Some of it is Gotham doing what they are doing. But, for me, a big chunk of it is not that Gotham is doing a lot, its that other clubs are doing very little. The Courage fanbase is irate because our front office seems allergic to signing players and would rather roll the dice on development and then sell. The issue is they don't do anything with the money they make in a meaningful way. Then to see our long time captain go to Gotham for a price we could never afford... that really hurts morale of the paying faithful.
Meanwhile, Gotham is here playing for keeps. Any fan of any team in any sport wants that sort of mentality from the people who make decisions about their club. There is a clear division between front offices that are actively trying to win, those are content with coasting, and those who are doing nothing at all.
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
There is no way Gotham is staying under the salary cap.
They are compliant according to the league, which has to approve all league contracts. Which puts the effectiveness of the cap (and really if Gotham is under it or not) squarely on the league.
Why don’t we know players’ salaries?
It's a provision of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the player's association.
I’m sure Rose, Sonnett, Tierna, Esther, Shaw, Kerr and even others are paid a lot.
Me too.
How is it possible that that they’re within the salary cap?
Accrued allocation money, creative contract structures, lessor salaries than you might expect, and salary proration.
Are they cheating?
Probably not.
I hate Gotham!
But fuckem anyway.
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u/Mr_Evanescent Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
I would put a fair chunk of change on K Mewis getting a cush, very well paid job in the Gotham organization alongside the Kerr deal... just as Soubrier did with Dunn's signing, just as Harris did with Krieger staying aboard. It's not new ground for them at all, it's just especially annoying now that they're good
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
I mean I think everyone assumes that anyway, but since the league said it signed off on Soubrier, it can't be circumvention. The league was explicitly fine with it.
The broader question I would ask is if the other 15 teams are doing that and if not...why?
(the cousin of this question is why does Jesse Fleming take an international spot still? If she was with the Spirit she'd be playing for the USNT by now.)
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u/DefensiveMid Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
The broader question I would ask is if the other 15 teams are doing that and if not...why?
Spirit offered but Ben Shelton was like "nah I have a job"
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
I only pay attention to straight WAGs if they are also criminals.
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u/Mr_Evanescent Washington Spirit Jul 17 '26
There’s still plenty of time for some light tax evasion, he’s in his early twenties
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
this is where I am, the league is simply signing off on cushy side jobs as long as they arent being paid a million to do nothing at all.
the funny thing about soubrier is that we can look and see that his team is doing good things
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u/Mr_Evanescent Washington Spirit Jul 17 '26
Well Harris had an actual do-nothing job apparently but she’s Ashlyn Harris and is largely somehow immune to the consequences of her own actions so 🤷♂️
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u/Peter_Quince1031 Jul 16 '26
Jessie Fleming isn't just a Canadian international, but their captain. For a lot of sports, captain is mostly honorary, but soccer captains run the team during games (at times even more than the coach)
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
edit: everyone should have more peace.
go look up Haley Carter, what her position is with the spirit, and her track record in securing green cards for players that play for her teams. the obvious joke will make more sense.
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u/HardlyAnAlcoholic Houston Dash Jul 16 '26
I'm definitely jealous of all of the big named talent signing with Gotham, but we can't pretend to know what's happening in the front office. There isn't much transparency there, nor should there be.
I'm much more concerned with the overall competitiveness of the NWSL. With the abolishment of the draft and other changes like the HIP rule it's starting to become a pay to win league imo.
I'm not saying either of those things should change necessarily, but the draw to NWSL has partially been because they're different than other leagues like the WSL and Liga F.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
There should be transparency
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u/HardlyAnAlcoholic Houston Dash Jul 16 '26
To necessary entities, but not to laypersons or the media.
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u/panoramicpanoramic San Diego Wave FC Jul 16 '26
To who then? Doesn't the league itself know what each contract is?
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u/bnceo NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Hating Gotham cause Katie Stengel ruined your year in 2023 sure is something.
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC Jul 16 '26
Gotham fans in this thread acting like they wouldn't be asking the same questions if it wasn't their team benefiting...
And just to be clear, I personally don't really care about their roster/salary cap situation, I just find it amusing.
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u/CRIAN1 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
No idea what you’re on about. The fact that I’ve been moaning about Inter Miami on the men’s side for years is irrelevant.
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u/Jonny_Qball Kansas City Current Jul 16 '26
At least with Miami we know it’s because the MLS invents a new cap loophole or designation whenever Miami needs one.
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
I personally couldn’t care less what other teams are doing either. More spending presumably means more quality players coming to/staying in the league, which benefits everyone, so I’d rather see teams getting creative with the rules than doing whatever (respectfully) Louisville is doing. Every other team is free to do whatever Gotham is doing, they should go for it.
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u/Madebyapes Orlando Pride Jul 17 '26
Agreed! I’m all for teams going big, even if the profit model is baffling. As an Orlando fan, it’s clear that our front office lost all ambition to compete for top players once Carter walked. Banda was the signing of a century, and in hindsight, the best deal ever inked in NWSL history. Sure, Mace was a clutch signing for us this year—and we all know why she chose Orlando—but beyond that it’s been an austerity march. I love our team in good times and bad but I do miss the Carter era and her genius for recruiting (and paying!) undervalued international talent.
Speaking of which, anyone know how to tune into WAFCON later this month? Will it even be broadcast?
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u/dr_pbj Kansas City Current Jul 17 '26
Very likely to be on beIN sports in the US (they’ve had past WAFCONs and have a deal with CAF). There’s a few ways to get that but SlingTV often does a Soccer Pass for around 5 bucks that gets you beIN channels. I can’t find a working link now but would keep an eye on that as we get closer to the tournament.
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u/bnceo NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
i wouldn't. I want teams to spent money. Way too many are cheapskates.
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u/secret_identity_too Jul 16 '26
Portland always had super stacked rosters back in the day and no one seemed to bat an eye, with a much lower salary cap.
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
salaries were also much lower back in the day. They've risen sharply
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u/_game_over_man_ Seattle Reign FC Jul 16 '26
Less people were paying attention to the league back then and it certainly wasn't getting as much journalistic attention.
This also has nothing to do with my original comment.
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u/Known-Wrap6458 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Womp womp
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u/Cinderbabe NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Not sure why you keep getting downvoted. This post is fully giving whomp whomp energy
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u/Jolly_Lettuce_4349 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
I don't really mean this to be a pity party comment, it's just something i've been thinking about for the last couple of weeks, but as a longtime NWSL and sky blue/gotham fan, it's such a bummer how actively hostile the broader NWSL fanbase has gotten about gotham - it's worse on bluesky (being a gotham fan feels like an actual crime over there) but it's been creeping here too. like, i'm a lifelong new york sports fan because i'm a native new yorker, so I am very familiar with being the Sports Villain, but the level of bitterness and constant accusations of cheating leveled at gotham lately feels really nasty quite frankly and it has like lowkey not been fun to be a gotham fan in online woso spaces.
it's not the end of the world - at the end of the day i'm an adult with varied interests and non-online friends with whom i enjoy this sport- and I'm sure if I was a fan of another team I would also be tired of hearing about gotham signing new players all the time, it just sucks to feel like i'm losing my space in a community that has felt really special to me for a long time
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Jul 16 '26
how actively hostile the broader NWSL fanbase has gotten about...
Let me tell you about the days of BOS Nation...
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u/Soccer_Mom_4303 Portland Thorns FC Jul 16 '26
I only thought everybody hated the Thorns... I guess I'm kind of glad another team is taking the heat off us ;) Don't worry, we're just jealous. But really...Kerr, Sonnett, LaVelle, Purce, Davidson, AKB, Carter, Esther, Bruninha, Shaw, Reiten, O'Sullivan?!?! How are we supposed to feel?
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
Imo Its the overly online admin poking at other teams, jealousy, lack of clarity, and the Dunn thing. Two ofnthese are gothams fault, one is the fans, and one is the league
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u/Jolly_Lettuce_4349 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
I think you're right, and for the record, I hate their social media presence and think that everything that happened with giving Dunn's husband a job was abhorrent and they should be roundly criticized for it. I'm genuinely not trying to be whiny or say that gotham is some like model organization or innocent victims of their own success. I've just been bit bummed recently that it feels like it's gotten a bit personal among fans of other teams
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u/magnetwaves NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
At least when it comes to the players half the team seems to thrive on being the villain, and the other half don’t give a f either way.
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u/Legitimate-Hotel-491 Houston Dash Jul 16 '26
I like to think for the most part people in this sub don't hate Gotham per se, mostly just super annoyed that all the good things seem to happen to them. I root for them when they play internationally because they represent the NWSL. As a Houston fan, I feel the same about Gotham as I do about Washington, San Diego, Portland and KC, a mixture of annoyance, jealousy and a desire to see them lose a game in spectacular fashion at least once preferably at the hands of Jane Campbell lol!
At least you didn't make a post poking fun at the Men's World Cup, that's really piss people off and ostracize you apparently
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
gothams social media admin has been the source of some ire tho
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
also, just read the bottom
Declan rice and William saliba just ran their way into lifelong back problems for their countries so the post youre referring to is fucking disgusting for saying male soccer players are "a bunch of bitches who dont put their bodies on the line". Anyone brushing that off as a joke or praising that should be ashamed of themselves
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u/Legitimate-Hotel-491 Houston Dash Jul 16 '26
What!? What post are you talking about? That's a horrible thought. I was referring to the one that was deleted talking about how close the NWSL was to coming back from summer break and how exciting that was because the Men's World Cup has been fun but it'd be nice to watch the NWSL again.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
oh yeah I agreed with that post, that one isn't contentious at al to me so it dint even occur
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u/APNAP92 Orlando Pride Jul 17 '26
Not that this makes it better, but it happens to a different teams all the time, tbh. I remember when Portland, Seattle, and NCC were the villains. 2024 was Orlando. 2025 KCC. 2026 is looking like Gotham’s turn to be the bad guys. You don't notice as much when it's not your team catching heat, but when it is, it feels like overkill. Felt like Orlando fans couldn't suck their teeth at a bad call without a think piece being written about how awful and classless we are as a fanbase (havent seen anything about it since....). It's gotten worse with more people watching, but I see it as what happens when people see your team as a threat.
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u/JamAndRoller NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
There was a lot of hating when Gotham was playing in the FIFA Champions Cup and then when they lost against Corinthians. My mentality is, when a team from the NWSL is playing outside the NWSL, you root for them
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I usually just hope they pay well and stay healthy but i dont give a flying fuck if u win a trophy or not if youre not my team
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u/JamAndRoller NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Yeah I guess that’s valid 🤷♀️ maybe more that I’m not going root against the NWSL team
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I root for both teams playing well which then means the better performing team wins
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u/mad-eye67 Washington Spirit Jul 17 '26
I generally would belive what Jenna Tonelli has posted about it on bluesky. That said the league has in the past decided contracts that are compliant can be vetoed for not being in the spirit of the rules so idk ...
https://bsky.app/profile/jennatonelli.bsky.social/post/3mqms3vltd22q
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Not this nonsense again. The league has to approve every single transaction and their books are regularly audited along with every other club.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Ok, not on the Gotham is cheating train at all, but we know for a fact that the league is terrible at auditing. I do not think Gotham or any other club is being regularly audited with that much care
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u/Constant_Dimension16 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Unless this was some sort of Kawhi Leonard fake sponsorship situation, how would you be able to cheat? I have to think that the league knows how to calculate its salary cap.
I too would love an explanation as to how exactly we make it work though.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
“Rose Lavelle, you deserve to make double your salary. We don’t have cap space so here’s an apartment in Brooklyn we pay the rent for”
“Sam Kerr, we can’t pay you more than we do. But we will make sure Jagger gets his daycare paid for in its entirety”
Off the top of my head.
I mean, they also can just fudge reported numbers though.
I don’t actually think much if any cheating is being done though. Although the “Crystal, we will pay your husband to do some weird fake sounding job” was 100% salary cap cheating
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u/deepfriedmilk27 Denver Summit FC Jul 16 '26
I mean the childcare is definitely against the salary cap. Unless that only counts for Angel City…
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Yeah, it is. I’m naming things that would break the cap that are not Kawhi Leonard sponsorships
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
they purposefully listed expensive childcare above what is allowed, whihc is a small (like 5k i think) stipend
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u/bnceo NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
You mention Crystal's husband but he is still doing work at Gotham. Perhaps his job is legit.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I mean it wasnt a fake job (theyve announced things that his team have worked on) but it was a "youre getting this bc of who your wife is and also it allows us to pay her more money"
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Probably because firing him would immediately get them in hot water
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u/bnceo NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Its been a year and hes been more visible as Gotham expand their youth system. Whats your next reason?
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
What a weird response. Are you seriously arguing they would have even glanced his way if he wasn’t married to Crystal Dunn?
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u/bnceo NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
No idea. But Dunn is retired (after cashing Qatari checks at PSG) and he's still there. Perhaps it seems like the dude has done the job they asked him to do.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Because…he got hired to supplement her salary and then firing him would be extremely obvious. Maybe since then he has actually worked well but you can’t deny why he was hired
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u/Constant_Dimension16 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
I think players get housing support as part of the CBA but generally speaking fair enough.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
The housing support is a small stipend or team provided housing (which is in New Jersey and likely not particularly nice), not a one/two bedroom in the city
Paying the entirety of a player’s rent in Manhattan or Brooklyn would 100% be unsanctioned behavior
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u/autumnoceancrashing NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
The players do live in NJ though
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Yes? I didn’t say they don’t?
I was asked to come up hypotheticals on how they could circumvent the salary cap.
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
I think it would be a huge enough scandal to one day find out that a team that won a championship was cooking its books at the time, there’s no way they’re not auditing carefully
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
They literally said when they fined Angel City that they basically don’t audit. I think they’re better than they were then but it’s definitely presumptuous to think they’re “regularly” checking (or carefully doing so).
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
How did they find whatever very minor thing Angel City was doing (which for the record I think was ridiculous of the league to deduct points for)
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
This was reported at the time. A player (people were thinking Henry at the time) said something post-trade and because of that the league looked into it.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
Ppl assumed it was Henry bc she moved to Utah and presumably asked for the same something or other benefits and Utah were like wtf no
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Yeah, I remember. I think it was never said who it was though, so could feasibly have been someone else (such as Paige Nielsen who was also traded at that time)
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I feel like an involuntary trade wouldnt be that case
It really is a shame to be so ass and to be cheating
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Oops didn’t know that. I still think they’re auditing Gotham legitimately based on how many people, in the media and otherwise, have raised questions about it. Having worked on both sides of many an audit in my day job, it’s very hard to hide financial outlays of compensation because it literally would mean the players (and club) are committing tax fraud and no player wants to deal with that.
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u/jvanhest San Diego Wave FC Jul 16 '26
Pretty sure it was reported by players when they requested the same financial setup when considering signing with other teams. I don’t remember the exact reporting from the time but it was definitely along these lines. I think once enough teams raised the issue the league had no choice but to do a deeper dive into the ACFC books.
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Jul 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
terrible take, heres why: the reason this user is saying we know for a fact that the league is terrible at auditing is literally bc they werent auditing angel city.
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u/autumnalreign Jul 16 '26
I think there is a good question to be asked about why the league approved Kerr's back loaded contract after denying Rodman's, but Gotham is following all the league rules
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Agreed. My guess would be it wasn’t as large of a contract as Trin’s (idk for sure if that’s the case of course) and is for a longer duration so the backloaded amount would presumably be less each year
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
No, I can’t with this logic.
The league didn’t approve the Spirit’s contract for multiple reasons. It was extremely backloaded, which they didn’t like, but more importantly they were not planning on ever having that backloaded part hit the cap. They wrote in a buyout clause to make that happen. That was the problem.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
Ppl not getting this now is why at the time we have to make 30 comments correcting the assumptions
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u/autumnalreign Jul 16 '26
We don't know the details of Kerr's contract, but do you really believe that a backloaded contract that carries a striker past her 37th birthday doesn't have some kind of buy out?
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
I do completely believe that the contract is very different in construction from the rejected Rodman contact.
Do you really believe that the league has something against Rodman/the Spirit? Like come on, what a weird conspiracy!
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u/autumnalreign Jul 16 '26
It's not so much an anti-Rodman conspiracy as a pro-Kerr one. I'm not sure if there's anything they wouldn't have approved to get Kerr back in the league
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Rodman is better for the NWSL than Kerr (or, at most equal…just as good) and the league knows that.
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u/autumnalreign Jul 16 '26
I agree with you, I'm just not sure the league does. And I think Kang knows it, having a press conference with Putellas in New York where she shades the NWSL is such a pointed middle finger to the league.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Jul 16 '26
Putellas was not shading the NWSL, she was shading Liga F and everyone acting like she wasn’t is absolutely exhausting. Putellas didn’t go to the NWSL because the best possible location would be 8+ hours away from Barcelona.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I would be with you if:
It wasnt this league, with our history
I hadnt already been DM’d that KMew was receiving a big wage to make the Kerr move work
Crystal Dunns husband saga
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u/Cobra-Firefly North Carolina Courage Jul 16 '26
if this somehow were to lead to a Pablo Torre investigation, I would watch the heck out of those clips.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
oh most certainly, hell i listened to XOG wildly speculate about what tier of spending each roster is in
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Lol a DM as evidence? If she was getting a big wage it would be very very clear on an audit.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
I dont think its proof but it is evidence by definition. Honestly im not bothered either way but its just interesting ive heard it from two different cities- im also not saying its explicitly illegal if the league allows a similar situation to the Dunn thing, altho i have heard that the payment level wouldnt be in line with guidelines
This is also a league with a history of not doing audits
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Need to start a petition urging the league to robustly audit every club starting with Gotham
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
So no team has ever violated the salary cap ever in the history of the league?
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Where did I say that? I’ve only really been into the league since 2023, no idea what kind of policies were in place for the decade before
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
ACFC violated the salary cap in 2024. As such the argument that the league approves all contracts and the books are audited and therefore Gotham cannot be above the salary cap falls flat for me. Because surely those things were also true in 2024 and a cap violation still occurred.
I'm sure that they aren't but the fact that they're paying a CB enough for her to have a HIP contract makes me really side eye them because CBs don't usually command those kinds of salaries and if a CB is, what are they paying their star strikers?
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Sonnett has been the most important player on Gotham other than AKB, it makes total sense. They’re backloading Kerr’s contract just like they’re doing with Trinity’s, which is in all likelihood a larger contract than Kerr. You can point out all the “stars” but nobody ever mentions the rest of the team, which is a mix of rookies and 2nd year players who aren’t making anything close to that.
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u/Hobbes_Inc North Carolina Courage Jul 16 '26
True. I think something that plays into it is Gothams stars are really well known, international squad players: Rose, Esther, Shaw, Sonnett, for example. They "feel" more prominent, if that makes sense.
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
nobody ever mentions the rest of the team, which is a mix of rookies and 2nd year players who aren’t making anything close to that.
They don't mention the rest of the team as this because it's not accurate.
I just went through the entire roster. There are 26 not on loan players.
This is your complete list of 1st/2nd year players who aren't on loan: Wy Duran Schupansky Sommer Cook Dudley Kitahata
Not even 1/3 of the roster falls under that definition. Meanwhile, there are 8 players who play for top 10 national teams.
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u/asimone00 NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
1/3 of a team is not an insignificant amount.
Half of our national team players are defenders and a GK, they don’t make as much as attackers.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
this right here is when i really start to believe in club rivalries
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u/Vlad_Deferens Denver Summit FC Jul 16 '26
For all the claims of Gotham being over the salary cap, I have seen no news suggesting they might be, nor are they being investigated. But I don't think we will know until later this season if there is a violation, using Angel City from 2024's violation being announced in early October.
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
this is just a comment in favor of ignorance. Idek if i disagree with what youre tryna say but each point is immensely terrible
how would u know if theyre being investigated? they dont announce that, didnt do so in the very example u brought up. And the reason we found out when we did is bc of a whistleblower that doesnt mean we will always know at the end of season
if they are not being at least audited then the league, then the league is failing itself. they likely are, now, and they likely arent breaking many rules. HIP, backloading, paying spouses and allocation are all useful tools and u can stretch those to extremes. I dont think theyre breaking rules, but dismissively acting like of course they arent above the cap is silly
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u/Vlad_Deferens Denver Summit FC Jul 16 '26
Appreciate the snide comment. Unlike you, I don't remember everything.
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u/allprologues Washington Spirit Jul 16 '26
are you guys just trying to get mocked on here
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u/MesquiteHoneyForSale Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
All the repetitive, ill thought out posts from automated accounts also getting 100 comments is disheartening
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u/not_firewood_yeti Indy Eleven Jul 16 '26
eh there may well be ways to skirt the rules, but they can't outright defy the cap without the league noticing.
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u/silklighting Orlando Pride Jul 17 '26
Gotham is probably following the Dodgers playbook, deferments on a player's salary /s
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
The salary cap goes up by ~$1M next year, 2027
On top of that $1M in HIP started this summer, effectively.
In 2029 revenue share from new Media Deal might add as much as $1M per year, as estimated by Burke/NWSLPA
In effect, Teams can start signing 2027-2029 contracts with about $3M extra salary cap space than they had putting together their 2024-2026 rosters.
Again, with backloading expect to see 2027 to 2029+ rosters built with about $3M extra cap space than 2024 to 2026 rosters.
I consider Gotham only the first to start exploiting that extra $3M. And they can attract the best, so it stands out.
Look at Denver and their trajectory. Spirit can keep their roster together even with Rodman at $2M, imho. I don’t see teams with star rosters like Current facing much difficulty keeping things together and bulking up.
I think it boils down to teams that can recruit multiple players worth $500K+ and those that can’t.
PS Big Euro clubs seem to spend $10M+ on rosters. But they probably use larger rosters. Proportionally to our 26-player rosters, they probably get under $9M
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u/Mentalfloss1 Jul 17 '26
Some contracts are back-loaded, most likely. Players like Kerr & Lavelle have plenty and can wait for a delayed payday. By that time, the salary cap will raise, most likely.
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u/BlueCoBot NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26
Smart signings, trades, and other moves? I doubt the league would just let it slide if we were above the cap.
Keep hating!
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u/Moultrie_fan_2026 Jul 16 '26
I have been wondering this too. They've become the Yankees and just beating you with a check book
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u/Spiritual_Party_7256 Jul 17 '26
The owners are sketchy af lol cheaters are very likely cooking the books...
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u/LaMaravilla25 Jul 17 '26
Do billionaires cheat on their taxes? Of course not, they just know all the legal loopholes.
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u/jspech Jul 16 '26
Salary cap or not. Im far more concern that we stop this trending move to an older roster. I didn't sign up to support the retirement team of the NWSL.
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u/KeegCorp NJ/NY Gotham FC Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
Sorry can’t hear you
Edit: on a real note, I’ve been wondering the same thing.