Five years ago, Trinity Rodman made history as the youngest NWSL draftee ever at the age of 18. On Jan. 22, this year, she signed a contract with the Washington Spirit that makes her the highest-paid women's soccer player in the world at only 23 years old. 

And her eventful month didn’t end there. She stepped on the field for the USWNT for the first time since last April on Jan. 24, scoring a goal in the 53rd minute in the team’s 6-0 victory over Paraguay.

Croix Bethune, who plays with Rodman on both the Spirit and the USWNT, told VIS that although Rodman scoring seemed unbelievable, she was “just doing Trin things.” Bethune has seen a shift in Rodman’s mindset.

“From the outside looking in, you don't think about how much soccer is mental,” Bethune said after the game against Paraguay. “Of course, it's a physical game, just running and playing, but being hurt gives you time away from the game and really lets you evaluate how bad you love it and how strong you are mentally.”

Rodman’s path to her historical contract and her first goal of 2026 wasn’t a linear one. To get to where she is today, she had to battle injury and focus on recovery, one step at a time.  

Injury Recovery

Rodman’s road back from injury was not easy. 

From April 2025 to August 2025, Rodman was sidelined with a back injury. Then, after getting called into National Team camp in October 2025, she faced another setback and was listed as unable to play after spraining her MCL during a Spirit game.

Rodman was able to play in the NWSL playoffs and Championship in late November, but was on a minutes restriction as she was still healing her MCL.

She has spoken openly about her recovery, even mentioning things she planned to do differently once she returned to the pitch.

“I’m still going to be Trin, but I think the way that I would throw my body around, maybe not (do that as often),” Rodman said in an interview from late July, when she was working through her back injury. “Maybe just being smarter about certain tackles, certain runs, certain 50-50s. I’m still going to be intense, and I’m still going to give it 100 percent all the time. But I think there’s parts of my games where I need to save energy or adjust to certain tackles, and I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job with that so far, coming back in training.”

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes told ESPN that during this January camp, a large part of Rodman’s recovery will come down to doing what is needed outside of the field.

“We've spoken about [how] it doesn't come quickly, sometimes it takes time and consistency with that time to build the necessary strength so that her back can cope with the demands of the game,” Hayes said. "I think the thing for her this year is she's got to take responsibility, not just on the field but off the field to make sure she gets the regular maintenance. It's all about the other 22 hours and what you do with that. If she can nail that then I expect her to continue to thrive."

In her first game back with the National Team, Rodman had a couple missed volleys in the first half, but returned with vengeance in the second half, sneaking in a left-footed shot to the nearpost in the 56th minute of action. She was subbed off in the 63rd minute, passing the captain's armband to teammate Claire Hutton.

“I'm just very, very, very happy,” Rodman said after the game against Paraguay. “I feel like I've had a lot of these, ‘I'm happy to be back,’ which kind of sucks. But it's been a while since I've been representing the Crest and then coming off a fully recovered off-season healthy is really nice. I needed it and I'm healthy right now so that's all that matters.”

“I’m still going to give it 100 percent all the time. But I think there’s parts of my games where I need to save energy or adjust to certain tackles, and I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job with that so far, coming back in training.”

Trinity Rodman

Making History

Despite her young age, Rodman is the most experienced player on the January camp roster, entering the camp boasting 47 appearances, well above the camp-average of 6.6 caps.

This level of experience plays into her new contract.

Under the new contract, Rodman will make over $2 million annually and will stick with the Spirit for three more seasons. The signing of this on Jan. 22 marked the end of three months of negotiations and the beginning of a new era for women’s soccer in the U.S. and the world. 

Recently, top U.S. talent has been leaving the NWSL for the Premier league, including players like Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma, for higher pay opportunities. Because of this, beginning in 2026, the NWSL is implementing a rule allowing clubs to pay an additional $1 million outside the salary cap to “High Impact Players,” in efforts to maintain talent and a competitive league.

“We couldn't be more excited to have Trinity in the NWSL," NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said to ESPN. "We always said that it was a priority and that we would fight for her and that our goal was to find a way to sign her within the confines of the rules that apply to all clubs, and we were able to do that.”

Rodman has been with the Spirit since getting drafted to the NWSL in Jan. 2021. She won Rookie of the Year and helped the team win its first and only championship in 2021.

Her impact on the team has been felt over the years, becoming the youngest player to ever reach 10 goals and 10 assists in league history. In 2024, her most recent season at full health, she recorded 8 goals and 6 assists, was named to the NWSL Best Ⅺ first team, and was a finalist for the NWSL MVP.  

“I’ve never seen her name without the Spirit name next to it,” Spirit owner Michele Kang said to The Athletic in reference to the January Camp roster. “That was when it hit me. I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, this can’t happen.’ We have to accelerate (and) make sure that we can push it over to the finish line.”

“It's been a while since I've been representing the Crest and then coming off a fully recovered off-season healthy is really nice. I needed it and I'm healthy right now so that's all that matters”

Trinity Rodman

Rodman is starting off 2026 with quite the bang, with a record-breaking contract and a goal in her first game back since April 2025. But through it all, she stays focused on the games in the future.

“Obviously, it's a lot of emotions,” Rodman said after the game against Paraguay. “I think you're on the high of like, go, go, go, go, so much information, a lot of media, answering the same questions. But it's all been good news. I can't complain, it's been amazing. I'm so blessed and to finish this week with this game and then going into another game in Santa Barbara, I couldn't be happier.”