To get an idea of just how much the NWSL‘s current Collective Bargaining Agreement has changed the league, one need only to look at the two most recent trades involving current Seattle Reign forward Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams).
Back on Jan. 12, 2023, Biyendolo, at the time a regular with the U.S. women’s national team, was traded from the Kansas City Current to Gotham FC. And she never saw it coming.
“That was a complete shock,” she told ESPN about the deal. “I had no idea until about an hour before the trade happened.”
Fast forward almost two years later and Biyendolo was dealt again, this time from Gotham to Seattle — and her experience was completely different. In that instance, she not only knew ahead of time that she would be moved, but she had a say in where she went. The Fresno, California native wanted to go to a title contender and be closer to family.
“Very, very different,” she said about the two experiences. “The ability to just wrap my head around everything, knowing that I was making an informed decision coming here, and it was on my own terms versus the latter [trade] of surprise, where you need to uproot your life and everything.”
She added: “To have…
