All power to the people. To the people on the square.

As a much Perfomance.

On Thursday, the National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association announced a stunning new collective bargaining agreement that, among many other important improvements in salary, travel expenses and parental leave, eliminates all drafts and requires players to consent to transfers.

The players are either under contract or are unrestricted free agents. No draft, no suitable offers, the ball is in their court. In addition, there is practically a league-wide no-transfer clause – a provision that is rare among NBA players and now applies to everyone in the NWSL.

The NWSL didn’t just come up with these ideas. Its new collective bargaining agreement is designed to bring the growing league into line with FIFA rules on player status and transfer, putting it on a more level playing field in an increasingly robust international market.

Yet, as an American sports fan whose circadian rhythm is accustomed to annual drafts and transfer deadlines, I have so many questions.

Including this one: Could this kind of radical player empowerment find traction in other American sports leagues? Perhaps it seems unthinkable to you, an NFL without its multi-day draft, an NBA without its transfer bonanza at the last minute. But let me take it easy and think about it anyway – what if?

Imagine a world where teams are only motivated to try to… win?

Out of luck? Tank for Tua? Stop trying for Zion?

You better not! Take your Proceedings and push it away.

But let’s be honest, right? Teams have bad seasons. Things happen: injuries, slumps, age and life and bad luck. Or just bad play. Bad decisions that need to be reversed. How could an organization hope to get out of a slump and regroup without a draft to fall back on?

Maybe, I don’t know, recruit?

College programs have managed to turn things around without a draft—and previously, even without being able to offer the financial incentives that pro teams have always been able to. Imagine that an organization that wants to improve also has to attract talent through coaching, culture, facilities and, well, fit.

Would that be too much to ask?

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What about the NWSL players’ idea that a draft is “an outdated model that treats people like property that can be bought and sold”?

I always thought of it as more of a rite of passage, another award for LeBron James and Caitlin Clark and other stars of the sports world. And part of the game for us fans, who love the pre-draft debates and dramas about who should go where. The quick tantrums, the rejections, the dreams that come true in tears on live TV.

But Caleb Williams’ father made a real point in this 2023 GQ article before the Chicago Bears selected him No. 1 in that year’s draft. Remember? “The crazy thing about the NFL Draft process is that it would almost be better for him not to be drafted than to be drafted first. The system is completely backwards. The way the system is set up, you end up in the worst possible situation. The worst possible team, the worst organization in the league – because of their pursuit of parity – gets the first pick. So it’s a blessing and a curse.”

Would Clark, the WNBA’s historic catalyst, have chosen to sign with the Indiana Fever – which has seen ticket sales increase 265% and jersey sales increase over 1,000% since the former Iowa star joined the team – if they hadn’t had the first pick in this year’s draft?

Or would she have chosen one of the WNBA’s best teams and made the rich in Las Vegas or New York even richer? Who knows – after all, she didn’t end up in Connecticut or South Carolina to play college basketball, but stayed home in Iowa. Maybe she would have chosen the four-time WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx, the team she cheered for as a kid in Ames, which is about 200 miles closer to Minneapolis than Indianapolis?

All of the above would have served the WNBA well with its increasing viewership and attendance, so what would have been wrong with granting Clark the same autonomy as college graduates of other disciplines who can decide for themselves where and for whom they work?

Now imagine being forced into a contract with your first employer – and then, a few months later, without your knowledge, your boss picks up the phone and calls his colleague at another company in another state and tells her he needs someone who is good at marketing. And then he offers you a productive member of the accounting department in exchange.

There are decent people in management who make these deals and who understand that it is not normal to trade people. We hear from the players themselves how difficult it can be, and from family members like Lauren Holiday, the wife of Boston Celtics star Jrue and two-time Women’s World Champion.

After being traded to Boston last year, Jrue shared her thoughts on Instagram: “Contrary to the cliche, it’s personal, meaning there are human lives involved. It’s never ‘just business’… imagine a world where we don’t hide behind the business of things, where we don’t treat each other like commodities… if we didn’t just give athletes dollar signs.”

A poignant post, but one that also felt a little out of touch with reality: If I had $30 million next to my name every year, as much as I’d miss covering Southern California sports, I could cover Boston teams. Dude, for the NBA’s middle class, I’d do it.

Being traded is a risk if you want to take home big money; that’s the nature of the game.

But what if your take-home pay isn’t nearly that high? What if you’re an NWSL player who has been making the league minimum of $37,856 per season? Or who will be making $48,500 next year, or $82,500 in 2030, thanks to the new CBA?

That’s not such a great bargain, is it?

The NWSL echoed its players’ sentiments and agreed to a rule that will effectively halt most transfers as what was previously a one-way street becomes a much more delicate intersection.

Angel City FC would certainly be an attractive destination for potential signings, and that’s because of LA! But the team would also have to convince a player currently living in that attractive location to leave in order to make a deal happen, so…

Now, I know it’s going to strain your credibility if I ask you to compare apples between the NBA or NFL and oranges between the NWSL – except, well, the NWSL wants a piece of the apple.

The new CBA was drafted as the league experienced unprecedented growth, set to expand from 14 to 16 teams and experiencing a boom in franchise valuations, including the July sale of a majority stake in Angel City FC – now valued at $250 million – to Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger.