How the NWSL cooked up the most pro-labor CBA in sports, explained

Typically, in professional sports, when there’s a collective bargaining negotiation between a player’s association and the league the players are part of, there’s a bunch of haggling done through the media.

Usually, the players come to the league with demands that give them more agency over their career choices. Sometimes, the leagues concede a bit. But it’s never always everything. Sometimes, they end up being a lot more restrictive, like the NBA’s most recent CBA. Other times, players will get concessions...