The league and the players are trying a new approach to team building.
The National Women’s Soccer League and the league’s players association are doing something very novel in the world of American and Canadian sports. The two sides have eliminated the entry draft which means franchises will allow a player to shop around for a team after turning pro and once that player’s contract runs that player can shop around looking for a new deal with perhaps a new team unencumbered. Major League Baseball enacted an amateur players draft in 1965 because many MLB owners were concerned that the New York Yankees ownership was cornering the market in signing highly touted amateur talent. The National Football League has a draft for what it claims to insure competitive balance but that really is not the case. A sports entry draft is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and is only made legal through collective bargaining. The draft is illegal as it stops elite college football players from shopping around for the best job and it is designed to suppress salaries.
In the NWSL’s case, there is not much money around and the team player personnel directors will have to make salary judgements to sign players with a total budget over slightly more than $3 million right now although that number is expected to grow to slightly more than $5 million by 2030. How does the NFL get away with drafting players? The NFL Draft becomes legal even though a third party, the incoming college players are hurt. NFL owners and the National Football League Players Association can collectively bargain conditions for the draft and if that means shutting down college football players’ job possibilities so be it. The players association has done nothing to stop the NFL Draft and has even agreed to keep the entry contract low so veterans can be paid more. The NWSL is sailing in uncharted waters.
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Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
