Naomi Girma, previously playing for two years with the San Diego Wave, has signed the biggest contract in the history of women’s soccer. On Sunday, Jan. 26, Girma was presented as a new player for Chelsea at their game against Arsenal. Girma has also announced herself that she signed a deal for 1.1 million dollars with Chelsea to play for them for four years. CBS News states that Chelsea’s payment to her far surpassed the previous world-record for women’s soccer earnings. This record was held by Rachael Kundananji, who was paid $788,000 to become a striker for Madrid CFF in 2024.
This is a well deserved title for Girma to have, seeing as her athletic career has been extensively prestigious. Previously, she has played in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), as one of the best defenders in the league. According to CBS News, she won the Young Player of the Year award in 2020. In college, she was the captain of the Stanford team that won the national championship in 2019. She has also appeared in 44 games in the U.S. after her debut with the national team in 2022; the same year she was also the number one recruit in the NWSL draft. She then went on to win the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. In 2023, Girma was named U.S. Female Soccer Player of the Year.
Considering that this is women’s soccer, this is an extremely high feat for Girma. Women’s soccer players have consistently not been paid to the same degree as male players. A study in 2023, done by CNN, revealed that women were being paid 25 cents to the dollar that men were receiving. Also, at the 2022 World Cup, women’s soccer overall had cumulatively earned $330 million less than the men’s teams. According to CNN, this large gender pay gap is still better than it has been in previous years, seeing as in 2019, women were being paid eight cents to the men’s dollar. The breakthrough of this decades-old play gap is a very significant event to not only Girma herself, but women’s soccer as a whole.
In NBC News, Girma made statements about her decision to change teams, and that it was an easy decision on her part. She praised the “culture, the winning mentality, staff and players…[and that] it’s a top environment to learn and grow in.” The current coach for Chelsea also gave her admiration for Girma’s athleticism and described her to be “ready for this next step in her career.”
Despite the obvious praise for her new team, there is speculation around other contributing factors that could have pushed Girma from her previous team, the San Diego Waves. In Oct. 2024, a former Wave player sued the NWSL and Wave for sexual harassment, unjust termination, and discrimination, according to NBC News. The team has had coaching changes, moving from former head coach Casey Stoney to Landon Donovan, a former U.S. soccer icon. The president of Wave, Jill Ellis, also left the team to be the chief football officer at FIFA that December.
Breaking the record for most pay by $312,000 is not common in women’s soccer, but Naomi Girma has done it regardless. Her career will likely continue to flourish across the ocean, still there for her American fans to cheer on Chelsea as she is introduced into this team.
