The NWSL landscape experienced a seismic shift Saturday as USWNT star Jaedyn Shaw has been traded by the San Diego Wave, according to The Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf.
Shaw has reportedly been dealt to the NC Courage for what Kassouf called a “large sum” spread between allocation money and intra-league transfer funds.
The move will have a serious impact on the 2025 outlook for both teams as clubs look ahead to the new season, which starts on March 14.
Shaw started her career with the San Diego Wave after signing for the club in early 2022 as a 17-year-old. The NWSL made an exception to its age restriction to prevent a blossoming USWNT star from signing for a European club instead.
Since then, she has made 49 career appearances for the NWSL club, scoring 13 goals and helping them win the 2023 regular-season title.
The Sporting News runs through what this deal means for both teams and how it played out.
MORE: Full 2025 schedule for the USWNT, starting with SheBelieves Cup
Jaedyn Shaw requests trade from San Diego Wave
Jaedyn Shaw’s trade came at the behest of the player, who had asked to leave the club in 2024, according to Kassouf’s report.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) requires all trades to receive player approval before they can take effect, essentially giving every player in the league a full no-trade clause.
Kassouf reports that while the new CBA does not officially take effect until Jan. 15, teams have been operating under this procedure since last summer as they look to be fully integrated into the new procedure once it becomes codified.
Shaw seems to have raised the trade request herself. It’s unclear why she would have requested a trade from the Wave, but Kassouf mentions that she had been played in numerous positions during her time at the Wave and has publicly stated she prefers to play the No. 10 role.
The request also could potentially have to do with a number of changes at the San Diego Wave that have taken place in the last year.
The club finally concluded a lengthy sale process last October, made a switch at sporting director in June and fired well-regarded head coach Casey Stoney just two weeks later. The departure of Stoney in the middle of a difficult season seemed to come as a surprise to many both inside and outside the club.
Club president Jill Ellis, who made the decision to change head coaches, has since departed the club herself to take an executive position within FIFA.
What are NWSL allocation money and intra-league transfer funds?
Like its men’s counterpart MLS, the NWSL has a number of roster mechanics to help clubs spend money on top-tier players while still remaining compliant with the league’s salary restrictions.
The NWSL will hold a $3.3 million salary cap for all clubs in the league, which is expected to rise as high as $5.1 million by 2030, according to the new CBA.
Clubs can go over that limit by using allocation money to buy down player contracts. Allocation money can be traded to clubs which need to increase their pool to be used towards other player salaries.
Meanwhile, there is a cap on how much each club can spend in transfer fees, which for 2025 is set at $550,000, increasing 10% each year according to the new CBA. In essence, “intra-league transfer funds” is just a fancy way of saying the NC Courage paid a fee to acquire Shaw, in addition to the allocation money they traded.
Jaedyn Shaw trade could signal Kerolin’s departure at NC Courage
Brazilian superstar Kerolin was sensational for the NC Courage in 2023, winning the league’s MVP award.
That all came crashing down as she suffered an ACL tear just days before the start of the 2023 playoffs, and the Courage subsequently crashed out of the postseason in the quarterfinals in shutout fashion.
The injury saw Kerolin miss most of the 2024 season, and while she returned for the final six games of the year, her contract expired at the conclusion of the campaign. Her future has not yet been determined, but she is an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any club on a free transfer.
The arrival of Shaw, a young attacking star which the club can build around, could signal that the Courage are preparing for Kerolin to sign elsewhere.
San Diego Wave in full rebuild mode
With Shaw dealt, there’s very little left on the San Diego Wave roster for fans to hang their hats on.
In the wake of Alex Morgan’s retirement, Shaw was meant to be the next big attacking centerpiece for the club as it looks to return to a playoff position next year and, more long-term, establish itself as an annual contender.
Instead, in trading away a 20-year-old national team budding star — a relatively unprecedented move in a vacuum, as the club would be wise to build around such a player as they grow into the future — the foundational material at the club is sparse.
Left behind are just world-class center-back Naomi Girma in front of Canadian international Kailen Sheriden in goal. As far as household names are concerned, that’s pretty much it.
17-year-old Melanie Barcenas is one for the future up front, but remains raw, and Hannah Lundkvist is a budding talent at the back. Australian international Emily van Egmond terminated her contract earlier this winter.
Unless the front office puts that allocation money to good use in the next two months, 2025 looks bleak for the San Diego Wave.
