NWSL players' union rejects proposed loophole to its salary cap as league fights to keep Trinity Rodman

The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association rejected a proposal from the league's board that would have allowed teams to circumvent salary cap restrictions, it said Thursday.

The National Women’s Soccer League Players Association rejected a proposal from the league's board that would have allowed teams to circumvent salary cap restrictions, it said Thursday.

It would have been a seismic policy shift aimed at keeping national icon Trinity Rodman from possibly moving abroad for more money.

The board voted to approve a "high-impact player" loophole last week in capitulation over a backloaded contract for Rodman. It does not eliminate the salary cap, but it creates a roster mechanism that would allow teams to put $1 million toward specific players.

But the proposal had to be sent to the player's association for approval, which it denied, NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN on Thursday. The change would require collective bargaining, she said.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players get paid what with this pot of funds," Burke said. "Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals."