Manatt Counsel and Director Matthew Reece and Partner Binta Niambi Brown wrote a Sportico article about the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Players Association (NWSLPA), and how the League can leverage sponsorship revenues to continue its growth and compete with international leagues and players.
The authors explained how the newly reformed CBA will provide NWSL players with more favorable terms, including raising team caps and salary minimums, guaranteeing contracts and free agency, and enhancing benefits. They also discussed how commercial sponsorships can “help bridge the gap between existing budgets and top talent compensation,” such as by offering official sponsorship designations to fund player acquisitions or using a coordinated set of deals involving sponsor-club and sponsor-player agreements.
“The new CBA between the NWSL and NWSLPA has opened the door to attract the best talent in the world by removing trade restrictions and setting a free market to allow the flexibility necessary. The new sponsorship model offers a proven way to pay for it now, as league revenues continue to grow,” the authors wrote.
Read the full Sportico article here.