<p>The <strong>NWSL</strong> is at a crossroads. As the league and the <strong>Washington Spirit</strong> hash out the ways to keep <strong>Trinity Rodman, </strong>a new era of superstar spending, salary cap rules and competition with the global market could be on the horizon.</p><br><p>On this edition of <strong>Full Time, </strong>host <strong>Meg Linehan</strong> is joined by <strong><em>The Athletic's</em></strong> senior writers<strong> Paul Tenorio </strong>and<strong> John Hollinger</strong> to reflect on how other U.S. sports leagues have handled rethinking their rules in order to keep superstars and what the NWSL needs to learn from those examples.</p><br><p>Is an MLS-style designated player rule something to be embraced or avoided? Why does the NWSL need to think differently about its global market when compared to the <strong>NBA</strong>? Why could Rodman's next contract similarly change everything like <strong>Olivia Moultrie's </strong>case against the league did in 2021?</p><p>_______________</p><p>HOST: Meg Linehan</p><p>GUESTS: Paul Tenorio, John Hollinger</p><p>PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes</p><p>VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin</p><p>EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen</p><br><p>Tobin Heath clip credit: <strong>'A Touch More Live presented by Delta, Google Pixel, and Volkswagen (Vox Media)'</strong></p><p>Link to that show is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7y30D5sYp8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>here</em></strong></a></p><p>_______________</p><p><strong>Referenced on the show:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6873302/2025/12/08/nwsl-trinity-rodman-spirit-future/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NWSL said it would fight for Trinity Rodman. It’s only fighting with itself</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6810930/2025/11/15/trinity-rodman-contract-nwsl-salary-cap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NWSL can’t keep Trinity Rodman and its current salary cap. It’s up to the league to choose</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6824000/2025/11/20/trinity-rodman-nwsl-contract-offer-gainbridge-super-league/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trinity Rodman receives contract from Super League team larger than NWSL can match: Sources</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6866574/2025/12/06/trinity-rodman-nwsl-spirit-neogtiations-explained/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trinity Rodman negotiations explained: Why did NWSL reject the Spirit’s offer and what’s next?</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4214819/2021/05/05/teen-soccer-phenom-olivia-moultrie-sues-nwsl-for-right-to-play-in-league/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Teen soccer phenom Olivia Moultrie sues NWSL for right to play in league</a></p><p>_______________</p><p>Get in touch:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠</a></p><p>Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime</p><p>Subscribe to our <strong>Youtube</strong> channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theathleticfulltime" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>Subscribe to the <strong>Full Time newsletter </strong><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/full-time/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠here⁠⁠</a></p><p>Visit the <strong>Yahoo Women's Sports hub</strong> <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-sports/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠here</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>