Mallory Swanson signs record contract to stay with Chicago Red Stars and become the NWSL’s highest-paid player

Mallory Swanson went into free agency with an open mind.

When the process started in the fall, Swanson, as she always does, looked at the balance between her life and career. She made clear to the Chicago Red Stars and other National Women’s Soccer League teams that just because her husband, Dansby, is in Chicago after signing a seven-year contract with the Cubs last winter, that did not automatically mean she would stay with the Red Stars.

“Obviously having him there helps a lot because we are married and we’ve done long distance for five years and it is very difficult with me having to travel and everything,” Swanson told the Tribune. “So there’s a lot that went into it.”

As the Red Stars transition into a new era after a change in ownership, Swanson re-signed with the team Tuesday on a record-length five-year deal that makes her the highest-paid player in the NWSL. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the lucrative agreement surpasses Houston Dash forward María Sánchez’s three-year, $1.5 million contract signed in December.

“It’s a great honor and I’m super, super thankful and blessed that Chicago and the ownership group and the front office see me as that and they support me,” Swanson said. “I hope that’s just the bottom. I hope that next year, or even this year too, that it just keeps growing and that’s what it should be.”

Swanson’s record-setting contract comes on the heels of a significant increase in the NWSL’s salary cap. Each team’s cap doubled from $1.375 million last year to $2.75 million for 2024. The raising of the cap highlights how much the league and sport continue to advance.

“Women’s soccer is growing and you’re going to have to pay players and ultimately I think that’s what we deserve,” Swanson said. “(Executive chair Laura Ricketts) is behind the players and is a part of that, and I can really see that she wants the best for players too.

“You can set aside the salary part. I think it’s actually caring for the players, and from conversations that I’ve had with her, the vision that she sees and the passion that she has already for this club is amazing.

“That weighed in more to my decision versus any dollar sign or anything.”

Between conversations with Ricketts and the hiring of coach Lorne Donaldson, who has known Swanson since the youth ranks, a return to Chicago felt like a good fit. The team will look much different, though. Offseason departures include defenders Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Bianca St-Georges (North Carolina Courage) and Kayla Sharples (Bay FC) and forward Yuki Nagasato (Dash).

“Although we lost some of the older, veteran players, the group that we have is going to be super, super positive and the direction in which the club is going seems positive to me, so that had a role in me staying as well,” Swanson said.

Swanson, 25, missed most of last season after tearing the patellar tendon in her left knee in April but said she is healthy and ready to go for the preseason ahead of the NWSL opening day March 16.

“Without going into too much detail into my knee, it really has been super eye-opening,” Swanson said. “But it’s also been such a blessing because I’ve been able to actually be in Chicago and with Dansby when he was there for his first season. I feel like it’s taught me a lot about myself, that I can overcome some very, very difficult things.”

One message from Donaldson in particular resonated with Swanson as the motto for the season: Why not us? Gotham FC serves as inspiration for that outlook. After finishing last in the league in 2022, Gotham won the 2023 NWSL title.

“This is the start of something new,” Swanson said.

Since joining the Red Stars in 2021, Swanson has led the team in goals (18) and assists (10) in 51 appearances (47 starts) while also starring on the U.S. national team. By staying in Chicago, she reunites with Donaldson, whom she first crossed paths with at the youth soccer club Real Colorado. Swanson called Donaldson, hired last month, a “perfect fit” for the Red Stars.

“At the end of the day we’re playing the game as a job,” Swanson said. “We’re very fortunate and blessed to be able to do that, so Lorne always reminds me of that and the fun in that. That’s what this group needs, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Ricketts and the ownership group want to establish a new culture and move forward from the cloud that hung over the Red Stars stemming from the abuse under former coach Rory Dames and mismanagement by the previous ownership. Helping create a new culture appealed to Swanson.

“It’s really exciting because you can keep that identity part, you can keep the hard work, you can keep the grit, you can keep putting your head down and working,” Swanson said. “But also you have this new ownership coming in and this new kind of life that can help boost that even more.”