The National Women’s Soccer League’s 2026 season is shaping up to be the biggest year yet for the 14-year-old league: There are two expansion teams joining, Washington Spirit standout Trinity Rodman is returning on a record-breaking contract, and the Kansas City Current are looking to de-throne reigning champions Gotham FC.
Washington and Portland will take the pitch on March 13 at Audi Field for the first game of the season to kick off what could be the league’s biggest year for attendance. So what will the league’s new expansion teams do in their first season? And which players will stand out? Bustle spoke to NWSL experts for their predictions on that and more of what we’ll see on and off the pitch this season.
New Teams Fighting For Relevance
The NWSL grew to 16 teams going into the 2026 season, adding Denver Summit FC and Boston Legacy FC. They’re the latest addition to a quickly growing league — Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC joined in 2022, followed by Bay FC and Utah Royals FC in 2024. Atlanta will get a team in 2028 and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told reporters she is targeting another expansion team to launch that year, though the city has not been announced.
But what does that mean for the quality of play?
“This year, I think the question becomes can it continue to maintain its high level of competitiveness from top to bottom? Because that’s what separates the NWSL from every other league in the world,” Jenn Hildreth, lead play-by-play commentator for the NWSL on ESPN, tells Bustle.
There’s excitement for both new teams, and it’s clear Denver’s fans are ready to show out in a big way. The franchise announced that it sold more than 45,000 tickets for the home opener, which puts it on track to break the single-game NWSL attendance record set by Bay FC in 2025. “It’s going to be massive,” says Lori Lindsey, the lead NWSL analyst for Prime Video and CBS.
The NWSL eliminated all drafts in 2025, following sweeping changes with its new collective bargaining agreement, which makes it even more intriguing to see how the expansion teams will debut. “Now every team has to go out and hunt and find the players that they want,” Lindsey tells Bustle. “Sometimes you get that right, sometimes you don’t in terms of the mix of players in your first season.”
Trinity Rodman Ups The Ante
USWNT and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman signed a deal in January reportedly worth more than $2 million annually, making her the highest-paid woman’s soccer player in the world — ending months of speculation that the beloved American star would leave the league she was drafted into in 2021.
To keep her stateside, the league introduced the High Impact Player Rule to allow teams to exceed the salary cap in certain circumstances — and the player’s union isn’t happy about it. But fans agree the league is better with Rodman in it, and she will be a player to watch as she tries to avenge her team’s 1-0 loss to Gotham FC in the 2025 NWSL final.
“I think Trinity Rodman is going to have a dominant year,” predicts Briana Scurry, former USWNT and Hall of Fame goalkeeper. “With the contract uncertainty behind her and entering into a World Cup qualification year, I think she is going to be the clear favorite for league MVP.”
Triple Espresso Is Back
Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Wilson and Chicago Stars FC forward Mallory Swanson — the national team players known as “Triple Espresso” alongside Rodman — are expected to return this season after giving birth last fall.
“Those are three major players I think most people know, and seeing them get back on the field is going to be exciting. I love that we are seeing so many more women feel empowered, supported, encouraged to believe that they can start their families and still come back and have a career,” says Hildreth, who co-authored the book Tough as a Mother, which explores motherhood and women in sports.
“I’ve covered women’s professional soccer in this country since the WSA. I have only ever seen a handful — and I’m talking counting on one hand — of players who have come back after having children and played in the league each year. By my count, in 2025 and already the start of 2026, we will have had 11 players who either had babies in that time or [are] on maternity leave right now.”
That growing count of athlete-mothers reflects the shifting attitudes toward building a family and a career as a player in the league.
“Now, it is seen by the clubs as not something ‘to be dealt with,’” says former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis, who hosts The Women’s Game podcast. “It used to be not really viewed as positively by the clubs and players weren’t given as many resources to make that comeback successfully.”
Mewis thinks Wilson and Swanson’s stories will add a new perspective. “Seeing two of the league’s most popular, most talented players go through that journey and hopefully, as soon as they’re ready, be back on the field healthy, is amazing,” Mewis adds. “It’s such a testament to the player’s association and all of the players who have come before them who fought to gain those resources.”
Can Anyone Dethrone Gotham FC?
Gotham FC took home its second title in three years in 2025, beating Washington behind a goal from Rose Lavelle. It was an unlikely title for Gotham — as a No. 8 seed entering the postseason, they became the lowest seed to win a title in league history. So will they make it three in four years this season? It will be a tough road, experts predict. “Do I expect Gotham to repeat? No, but I have a caveat with that,” Hildreth says. “That’s only because I think it is so very difficult to repeat in this league.”
Kansas City has two-time Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga returning and the addition of midfielder Croix Bethune, who Lindsey points to as a player to watch. The Spirit have Rodman, goalie Audrey Kingsbury, and reigning defensive player of the year Tara Rudd. Every team has players fighting for a potential spot on the national team for 2027’s World Cup.
“I think Kansas City is always a team to keep an eye on,” Lindsey says. “They won the Shield last year. They did it in the fastest time any team ever has. They won it very early, in September, yet they failed to win the championship the last couple of years and they’ve been the heavy favorites [previously].”
Plus, their roster looks promising. “Until this league figures out how to stop [Chawinga] from scoring, she is going to continue to drive that team,” Hildreth adds. “She also has incredible talent around her.”
Will There Be A New Celeb Investor?
Peyton Manning joined the NWSL as an investor in the Denver team in 2025, becoming the second Manning (Eli, the former Giants quarterback, invests in Gotham FC) and the latest in a long line of celebrity investors in the league from Patrick and Brittany Mahomes (Kansas City Current) to Natalie Portman and Serena Williams (Angel City FC). So who could be the next A-list name joining their ranks with the two new teams coming in 2028?
While there are no credible reports yet, the experts had some guesses. Mewis’ pick? “Hillary Knight, I feel like that would be a good one,” she says of the U.S. women’s hockey star. “I feel like she has ties to a lot of the cities.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were also popular picks among those we interviewed due to their proximity to the Mahomeses. “OK, come on Patrick Mahomes, let’s get your teammate and his fiancee Taylor Swift out to an NWSL game,” Hildreth says. “I think we all need to see that.”
