Alex Morgan says new women's soccer contract gives players 'power back'
Soccer stars Alex Morgan and Brianna Pinto are speaking out after The National Women's Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association agreed to a historic new contract Thursday.
Both Morgan and Pinto were both on the NWSLPA's bargaining committee.
"It was an honor to be in the room for the bargaining. I was one of five current NWSL players that were present and it helped the league put names to faces and see our true humanity," Pinto told "Good Morning America." "I think that made it ever present about the demands that we were putting on the league."
The contract will extend the players' current one to 2030. Among its pioneering conditions, it will eliminate a draft, offer players free agency, and let players consent to trades.
"This is such a groundbreaking contract for us. It's really never happened in any American sports league," Morgan said.
"Not having a draft, although exciting in the moment, to be able to choose where you want to live, where you want to play, with all considerations of reproductive rights, tax laws, culture and facilities and everything within a team in a state that's provided, it's so important for the player to have that power back and to be able to choose," the San Diego Wave forward continued.
That prospect of choice, including free agency, is one that Pinto said players have supported for a long time.
"I think this is such a massive accomplishment for our players because it allows the clubs to make the decision to provide a professional environment that appeals to players all across the world," Pinto, a midfielder for the North Carolina Courage, said. "We're really excited about the newfound agency over getting to choose where you play, because this is something that players have been looking forward to for years."
Once the new agreements go into effect, all contracts will be guaranteed, a condition that mirrors those of other professional sports leagues and one which Pinto said was vital.
"That is important to us because it protects you from situations that are outside of your control, whether that be a health condition, an injury or a dip in on-field playing performance, you will be guaranteed that you have your contract through the end of your term," Pinto said.
Another key aspect of the new contract is the expansion of parental leave and family building benefits.
"I'm really proud of this part of our contract," Morgan, who is also a mom of one, said. "We're able to now travel with our children and bring [a] child care provider, but also look at future planning as well for our families, and that's providing players with access to fertility clinics and a lot of other resources that weren't available to us before."
"These are sort of things that you don't see in men's leagues," Morgan added. "And so, we had to think outside of the box and look at protecting and supporting moms as much as possible because I didn't want to choose – back in 2019, I was at the height of my career and I didn't want to choose to keep playing soccer or be a mom. I wanted to be able to do both – and so, to be a part of this and actually have a say in this contract that is so groundbreaking, I'm really proud of."
Morgan said the new contract will empower the league's rising and star players and could serve as an example for other professional sports leagues.
"I think that what we're doing is making changes that puts a little bit of the power back in the players. And I can definitely see some other leagues looking towards NWSL and seeing how we attained benefits within our contract and how they could do that," she said.
"There's leagues that have been around for 50 or 100 years that haven't been able to attain the things that we have in our contract and we're only in our 12th year of the NWSL, so it's pretty incredible what we've been able to achieve and and I hope this does kick start a little bit more of putting a little more freedom and choice back at the players' hands."
In a statement, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman applauded the significant contract agreement.
"Given our vision to be the best league in the world, we determined that this was the right time to align with global standards and achieve long term labor peace. This CBA gives us agency over our business and gives the players agency over their careers," Berman said. "Our new agreement revolutionizes the game, raises standards, and innovates the business. On behalf of our Board of Governors, I want to thank our players and their representative leadership at the NWSLPA for working together to make this possible."
Pinto emphasized that the league and players' agreement is a collective victory.
"Overall, we learned that when the players win, we all win, so we're super excited about this accomplishment," Pinto said.
