Restricted Free Agency Coming in 2024, Impacting 2023
Courtesy Connor Cunningham
One of the items that Coach Kim Björkegren discussed with the media on Wednesday this week, was the departure of Emily Fox. While her departure was definitely a sad event for fans of Louisville, it actually is a really good thing for the league and the players. Emily would have been one of the first players and probably the biggest name to be impacted by the new restricted free agency rule that in going into place in 2024. In the CBA, restricted free agency is available to “any Player whose SPA is expiring or who does not have an existing SPA with NWSL and who has at least three (3) NWSL Service Years.” If Fox had not be transferred to the Courage or signed a new contract, she would have no longer had an SPA with Louisville at the end of the 2023 season. In fact, as of today she is still eligible for restricted free agency in the 2024 season unless the Courage extend her current contract.
For the sake of using Emily as a test case, let’s assume she doesn’t sign an extension with North Carolina. The way that I interpret the restricted free agency section of the CBA, players can start negotiating with a new team mid-season. The CBA states “Players who will become eligible commencing with the 2024 League Season may begin negotiating a new SPA after the Roster Freeze date of the prior year.” For reference, the roster freeze date for the 2022 season was August 26th. I would expect that date to occur at a similar point this season. Therefore, if Fox decides that she isn’t having a fantastic season in North Carolina, she can begin negotiating with a new team with a significant number of games remaining in the season. If she does reach an agreement with a new team (let’s say the Spirit for the sake of argument), this part of the CBA kicks in: “the Player’s current team has an opportunity to match an offer that the Player receives from another Team in salary, any bonus, and duration. Thus, if the Player’s current Team matches an offer from the Player’s desired new Team within seven (7) days of the Team receiving written notice of the offer, the current Team will have the right to retain the Player.”
What I am not super clear on is the scenario where a player’s offer isn’t matched. With the roster frozen I assume that the player couldn’t leave, but you could see a scenario where a player like Fox is on Carolina’s roster for a playoff run, but already agreed to be a Spirit player in the next season. You see this often between leagues, but I can’t think of where this would happen (officially) in the same league, although it does happen with the details not becoming public under after the season.
Therefore, it’s in everyone’s best interest to not have the above scenario occur. I believe we will see more movement in the summer transfer window to avoid contracts being run down to the end of their terms. For Louisville, the restricted free agency clause only impacts Emina Ekic going into the 2024 season. Pickett, McDonald, and Nadim are full free agents after this season unless a contract extension is made. If Monaghan only ends up signing a one-year deal, she would be eligible for restricted free agency too, but I don’t see here signing anything less than a two-year deal. I expect a busy transfer window for the NWSL in the summer.
