The NWSL found out about Angel City’s salary-cap violation when one of its former players signed with another team and brought up the existence of a supplementary agreement, according to the league’s commissioner.
The league announced the discovery on Thursday, saying it had conducted an investigation and found violations of salary-cap rules, including what it called “side letters” (agreements outside the standard contract) between Angel City and five players that were not disclosed to the league. These side letters included additional benefits outside the NWSL’s standard player agreement. The league found Angel City “exceeded the salary cap by approximately $50,000 for four weeks during the 2024 season”.
The league subsequently deducted three points from Angel City for the 2024 season, fined the club $200,000 and suspended president/CEO Julie Uhrman and general manager Angela Hucles Mangano from all duties relating to player transactions for the rest of the year.
Speaking to The Athletic before the NWSL Shield presentation in Orlando on Sunday, league commissioner Jessica Berman did not share the specifics of what these side letters entailed or in which categories (such as bonuses, child care or relocation expenses) Angel City had spent the money on to put them in…
