Sophia Wilson re-ups with Portland on a record $1 million option
The USWNT star is heading back to the NWSL, exercising her one-year player option for a record $1 million, plus FIFA taps the year's best and more news to know
Report: Sophia Wilson returns to Thorns on record-breaking option
Sophia Wilson will become the NWSL’s first player to earn $1 million in a single season. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)
USWNT star Sophia Wilson is returning to Portland, with Sportico reporting that the 25-year-old exercised her one-year player option with the Thorns — keeping her in the NWSL through 2026.
Written into Wilson’s 2024 contract, the option is worth $1 million, making the striker the US league’s highest-paid player.
The 2022 NWSL MVP is set to return next season, after sitting out 2025 with pregnancy and giving birth to her daughter in September.
Big picture: Wilson’s re-signing comes as the NWSL reckons with salary cap limitations, after recently rejecting the Washington Spirit’s multi-million dollar Trinity Rodman offer.
ESPN reported that the league’s Board of Governors is considering adopting a “High Impact Player” rule to allow teams to exceed the salary cap, though no new mechanisms have officially been announced — nor is it clear if Wilson’s deal qualifies for the potential change.
Uncertain future: The NWSL’s current base salary cap is $3.5 million, but is set to jump to $4.4 million in 2027 — the same year Wilson will become a free agent.
Spain and England dominate FIFA Best Awards
FIFA named its 2025 Best Women’s XI at a ceremony in Doha yesterday. (Mohamed Farag - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
2025 Euros stars ruled this year’s FIFA Best Awards, as Spain and England internationals shut out the competition at yesterday’s annual ceremony in Qatar.
Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí won her third straight Best Women's Player of the Year award, after finishing as a runner up at both the 2025 UEFA Women’s Champions League and this year’s Euros.
“I’m grateful to have the award, it’s for all the players all the coaches and the fans, thanks very much,” Bonmatí told the crowd, as the three-time Ballon d’Or winner continues to recover from a broken leg.
Big picture: The 2025 Euros also influenced the Women’s Best XI, with the lineup exclusively featuring Spain and England standouts.
Bonmatí was joined by Spain teammates Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle, Patri Guijarro, Clàudia Pina, Mariona Caldentey, and Alexia Putellas, with champion Lionesses Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton rounding out the field.
England boss Sarina Wiegman took home Coach of the Year, while Hampton picked up Goalkeeper of the Year. (See full list)
Bottom line: Months after a controversial Ballon d’Or ballot, FIFA took a similarly narrow — read: European — view of success for this year’s individual honors.
Champions League wraps up league-stage play
Chelsea will push for an unbeaten league-phase record against Wolfsburg this afternoon. (Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
The UWCL’s first-ever league phase wraps today, as all 18 Champions League clubs square off in this afternoon’s simultaneous kick-off finale.
Top finishers No. 1 Barcelona and No. 2 OL Lyonnes secured automatic spots in the quarterfinals, followed by similarly unbeaten No. 3 Chelsea.
But the fourth guaranteed pathway will be tougher fight, with just three points separating No. 4 Juventus and No. 11 Atletico Madrid.
Big picture: Teams finishing fifth through 12th move on to the European competition’s first-ever knockout playoffs, with a quarterfinal ticket on the line.
No. 7 Wolfsburg will look to break into the upper ranks against No. 3 Chelsea, No. 4 Juventus will try to hold off No. 9 Manchester United, and 2024/25 champs No. 9 Arsenal will shoot for a result against No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in a cutthroat battle for tournament seeding.
Tune in: The final UWCL league-phase matchups begin today at 3 PM ET, live on Paramount+.
Toronto Tempo drops inaugural WNBA jerseys
Toronto’s uniforms feature the team’s signature Borealis Blue and Tempo Bordeaux colors. (Toronto Tempo)
One of the WNBA’s newest teams stepped out this week, as the Toronto Tempo unveiled debut jerseys ahead of their inaugural 2026 season.
“Today marks another meaningful milestone on our journey to bringing Canada’s first WNBA team to life,” Toronto CMO Whitney Bell said in Tuesday’s release. “Every detail of these uniforms is intentional.”
The designs feature the team’s signature Borealis Blue and Tempo Bordeaux colors, with six speed lines down the sides mirroring the Tempo’s logo.
“We’ve created a design that brings our brand to life and represents our city, our fans, and our team,” said Bell. “We cannot wait for our players — and our fans — to wear them with pride.”
Big picture: Toronto is expected to hit the court next season alongside fellow newcomer Portland, though stagnant CBA negotiations have delayed both expansion drafts.
In the meantime, the teams are moving forward with staff hirings and developing on- and off-court identities as they wait to build out their rosters.
Aryna Sabalenka wins back-to-back WTA Player of the Year
Aryna Sabalenka is the seventh WTA player to win back-to-back POY awards. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has done it again, taking home WTA Player of the Year for a second straight season on Monday — the seventh women’s tennis star to earn the honor back-to-back.
Sabalenka won the award in dominant fashion, garnering nearly 80% of the media vote after leading the 2025 WTA Tour in wins, titles, and finals appearances, while racking up a record $15 million in prize money.
The 27-year-old spent the entire year a No. 1, winning the US Open and reaching two additional Grand Slam finals this season.
Big picture: US rising star Amanda Anisimova won Most Improved Player, after reaching a career-first two Grand Slam finals while jumping from No. 34 to No. 4 in the WTA rankings.
Young Canadian talent Vicky Mboko took home Newcomer of the Year, Swiss No. 11 Belinda Bencic earned Comeback Player of the Year, and Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend won Doubles Team of the Year. (See full list)
Quote of the day
“I was switched on Paige, and she just blew right by me.”
Breeze forward Cameron Brink
on guarding Unrivaled teammate Paige Bueckers during Bueckers’s rookie WNBA season.