Over 160 days have passed since 2026 NWSL Free Agency opened up on July 1st, and players were free to begin negotiations and sign with other clubs. This was the first time where free agents were able to start negotiations this early in the year. Clubs were required to exercise their side of options ahead of the June 30th 12pm EST deadline. Here’s a breakdown of how 2026 free agency has gone so far:

Before the NWSL Championship

Looking just at the period of time from July 1st to November 22nd (the NWSL Championship),  there were 27 free agents signed, 24 of which went to the same team. 

Chloe Ricketts became the first player to sign with a new club while the regular season was still going when it was announced October 1st that she had signed with Boston FC for the upcoming season, and simultaneously her current team Washington traded her to Houston for $15k in intra-league transfer funds for the remainder of the 2025 season. 

The other two players were both defenders being signed to expansion-side Denver, but neither players’ 2025 clubs made the playoffs and the announcements were more than a week after the regular season ended. 

After the NWSL Championship

Since the 2025 season came completely to a close on November 22nd, there have been 21 free agents signed, and almost half of those were players signing to new clubs. Even more interesting is that of the 10 switches, only two have been to expansion clubs, and eight are amongst the other 14 teams in the league. 

Overall Trends

In total, 48 free agents have signed with clubs, and 10 players have announced their retirements. 

Below is just diving into free agency, but it’s important to keep in mind that some teams were really active before July in re-signing players, and also there are other mechanisms available to add players. 

Of the 16 clubs playing in 2026, only 13 have been active in free agency thus far with Angel City, San Diego, and Washington being the only teams to not have any announced yet. Unsurprisingly, Denver, as an expansion club, is leading the charge in free agents signed to a new club.  

When looking at the length of the contracts thus far, the distribution is spread fairly evenly until you get to three years with an option year. Splitting up the option years even further, of the 12, 10 are mutual options, 2 are club options, and only 1 is a player option. 

Splitting down the 48 into position, midfielders have had the most signings but when you compare the signings against the total number of players entering free agency in that position, defenders have actually been the most active, with almost half already signed for 2026. 

Looking Forward

There are 71 free agents still unsigned for 2026, and although there is only 5-6 weeks until players show up for preseason, there is a lot of time left for the chaos—especially since both expansion sides are actively teambuilding (Boston - 11 players, Denver - 7 players). 

The two big questions for the rest of the offseason are: will Sophia Wilson execute her player option in Portland or go test free agency as she makes her way back from maternity leave and will the NWSLPA’s grievance to the league on behalf of Trinity Rodman end up with her staying in Washington (and the NWSL). 

Keep up with all the free agency movement here