Alyssa Thompson lands in London.

Another week, another existential moment for the National Women’s Soccer League… although it’s a strikingly familiar story.

Chelsea Football Club made a shocking bid for Alyssa Thompson earlier this week ahead of the summer transfer deadline.

At first, it seemed like a hopeful bid.

Thompson had 3.5 years left on the extension she signed this offseason, and there wasn’t much time to negotiate an appropriate price for a rising young superstar. Well, that was until Chelsea turned to page one of the global transfer playbook: contract talks with Thompson led to Thompson wanting to leave, Chelsea’s camp leaked those plans to the British press, and then had Thompson fly to London before the deal was finalized.

The result?

Chelsea completed the signing of Thompson for a fee that reportedly could reach $2 million with incentives, but will likely fall in the $1.3 million range.

It’s a disaster for Angel City in just about every way.

Thompson’s fee should have cruised past Jaqueline Ovalle’s reported $1.5 million fee to move from Tigres to Orlando. Instead, Angel City succumbed to the full-court press and allowed Thompson to leave for a fraction of what a rising player of her caliber should cost a club like Chelsea… but what could ACFC do? It was a tough situation for a club that preaches ambition – to the tune of an entire HBO Max documentary series – but finds itself on the verge of back-to-back postseason misses.

Ultimately, the ACFC brain trust wasn’t going to stand in the way of Thompson’s payday – even as it paints their sporting decisions in a bad – read unserious – light. Chelsea can simply offer much more money to star players than any NWSL club can under the salary cap, and it’s a worrying trend on the heels of Naomi Girma’s departure last window.

NWSL clubs simply can’t contend unless they want to sacrifice the quality of their team. Chelsea can offer Thompson the world, and once that offer is made, what player is going to decide to stay in stateside on half of what they can make with a top club abroad?

Tobin Heath discussed the need to move on from the cap on the most recent Re–Inc podcast with current ACFC player Christen Press.

Of course, all players would want the cap eliminated, but she raises good points about spending within the league. Clubs like Angel City are spending big money on training facilities and manager salaries, but have their hands tied behind their back when it comes to paying players their worth in a global market.

The cap loses effectiveness when players can just sign abroad for larger deals without sacrificing quality of play in the Champions League.

It’s a tough spot for the league to find itself in. While they will always be the most competitive league and the most talented league in the world, top to bottom, globally, clubs are starting to wake up to the potential of the women’s game, and there isn’t an artificially restrictive salary cap to hold them back.

Ultimately, if the NWSL moved to a percentage of revenue model, much like the global FFP standards, then they would be able to compete with the Chelsea, Arsenal, and London City Lionesses of the world… but for now, fans have to hope that those teams don’t come calling for their star players.

The clubs, by design, can not compete.

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What’s next for Angel City?

The attack might be ok as Angel City hopes they still have the goods to make a playoff push. They’re in a positive spot with eight points in their last five matches and back-to-back wins, including a 2-1 win over Bay without Alyssa Thompson last weekend.

Riley Tiernan is the real deal, and her partnership with Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir and Kennedy Fuller proved fruitful. Is it sustainable? Maybe, but it is unreasonable to expect that the young trio won’t have hiccups along the way, especially with only Christen Press on the bench to supplement.

The good news? ACFC now has money to spend within the NWSL if they want to act quickly and trade for more help in the attack.

More likely, the Alyssa Thompson money – in conjunction with a Giselle Thompson extension – will go to a more complete rebuild for Alexander Straus’s side. There is work to do up and down the roster, but is Mark Parsons the right man for the job? Early returns haven’t been encouraging.

It is frustrating to watch a club that aims to set the global standard in its marketing and community efforts miss so thoroughly on the sporting side – maybe there’s more in that young core than expected… but they desperately need reinforcements.

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