Soccer ROI on my DD

Messi>CR7 said:
Many schools have club/intramural soccer as well if she simply loves to play. These are all former good club players who got into UCLA on their own academic merit. I was told the competition is quite tough. Supposedly >70 ladies showed up to the tryout for 8 spots.

2025-2026 Women's Soccer Roster - UCLA Club Sports

The official 2025-2026 Women's Soccer Roster for the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins
uclaclubsports.com uclaclubsports.com
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Great info and sharing on the UCLA Club link. Many of these players likely had the ability to compete at lower DI, DII, or DIII levels, but chose to prioritize academics or other considerations over pursuing soccer. Focusing on their majors without the demands of D1 travel makes sense for some. For me, I would fully support my DD taking this path.
 
Similar numbers when I was at a Big 10 school, around 80 guys trying out for a handful of spots. College club soccer offers the best of both worlds...had the opportunity to play exhibition games against D1, D3 and NAIA schools. But didn't have crazy practice schedules, no early mornings, could skip games if we had to study for exams.
 
It appears from the link that Shae Harvey has signed with the Portland Thorns, even though she’s still a junior at Stanford and hasn’t completed her degree. She’s choosing to go pro in a league where most players top out around $70K a year.

Is that the right move? Would finishing her Stanford degree and entering the NWSL a year later be the wiser path? Unlike the NFL or NBA, the NWSL doesn’t offer multimillion‑dollar contracts. I’m puzzled by how many young players are making this choice lately...

Portland Thorns Sign Stanford University Midfielder Shae Harvey - Portland Thorns

www.thorns.com www.thorns.com
 
Bay-tastic said:
It appears from the link that Shae Harvey has signed with the Portland Thorns, even though she’s still a junior at Stanford and hasn’t completed her degree. She’s choosing to go pro in a league where most players top out around $70K a year.

Is that the right move? Would finishing her Stanford degree and entering the NWSL a year later be the wiser path? Unlike the NFL or NBA, the NWSL doesn’t offer multimillion‑dollar contracts. I’m puzzled by how many young players are making this choice lately...

Portland Thorns Sign Stanford University Midfielder Shae Harvey - Portland Thorns

www.thorns.com www.thorns.com
Click to expand...
I will just tell you that none of the Stanford players leave without getting their degree.
 
Soccerfan2 said:
I will just tell you that none of the Stanford players leave without getting their degree.
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Just a few people who left Stanford without their degree and i would say they did ok for themselves.

Tiger Woods
Reese Witherspoon
John McEnroe
Larry Page & Sergey Brin
Evan Spiegel
Peter Thiel
Reed Hastings
Elizabeth Holmes
John Steinbeck
John F. Kennedy
Mukesh Ambani
Sally Ride

The more important discussion on this part would be what the opportunity cost is for the athlete of taking the contract now vs after graduation. Currently the difference in pay for a college dropout vs a graduate is under 20k per year. Avg tuition at Stanford is ~60k per year. So if she leaves now without finishing her degree, she will save at least 120k in tuition and get a guaranteed paycheck. What she loses is a potential of 20k a year in future earnings, IF she choses to quit soccer. Also signing now she is hedging her bets between potentially getting a career threatening injury at college for no pay and more debt, potentially signing a larger contract after another year or 2 of college or signing right now. Lastly, if she drops out she always has the option to go back and finish her degree but if she has a significant injury she probably may never get a pro-contract. This is all food for thought and just a view point to consider. This may not be the route for all but is a significant consideration point and the overall data tends to point towards taking the early pro contract as the opportunity cost to not do it is not worth the risk.
 
MochaRulz said:
Just a few people who left Stanford without their degree and i would say they did ok for themselves.

Tiger Woods
Reese Witherspoon
John McEnroe
Larry Page & Sergey Brin
Evan Spiegel
Peter Thiel
Reed Hastings
Elizabeth Holmes
John Steinbeck
John F. Kennedy
Mukesh Ambani
Sally Ride

The more important discussion on this part would be what the opportunity cost is for the athlete of taking the contract now vs after graduation. Currently the difference in pay for a college dropout vs a graduate is under 20k per year. Avg tuition at Stanford is ~60k per year. So if she leaves now without finishing her degree, she will save at least 120k in tuition and get a guaranteed paycheck. What she loses is a potential of 20k a year in future earnings, IF she choses to quit soccer. Also signing now she is hedging her bets between potentially getting a career threatening injury at college for no pay and more debt, potentially signing a larger contract after another year or 2 of college or signing right now. Lastly, if she drops out she always has the option to go back and finish her degree but if she has a significant injury she probably may never get a pro-contract. This is all food for thought and just a view point to consider. This may not be the route for all but is a significant consideration point and the overall data tends to point towards taking the early pro contract as the opportunity cost to not do it is not worth the risk.
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The league minimum is around $50K. The average salary for new players is now around $120ish. Top elite college players are getting contracts that are in the $200K range and above.

And it's possible she finished her degree or can finish in some capacity online. I saw Mia Bhuta already finished her undergrad in some crazy amount of time (like 2 or 2 1/2 years).

On top of that, pro offers often cover some type of college education funding for college-aged players.

There are certainly some NWSL players only making the league minimum (which doesn't include housing - that is another $4K a month sometimes). But I doubt Harvey is in that lower range. Her contract was obviously enticing enough for her to leave Stanford.
 
fms said:
The league minimum is around $50K. The average salary for new players is now around $120ish. Top elite college players are getting contracts that are in the $200K range and above.

And it's possible she finished her degree or can finish in some capacity online. I saw Mia Bhuta already finished her undergrad in some crazy amount of time (like 2 or 2 1/2 years).

On top of that, pro offers often cover some type of college education funding for college-aged players.

There are certainly some NWSL players only making the league minimum (which doesn't include housing - that is another $4K a month sometimes). But I doubt Harvey is in that lower range. Her contract was obviously enticing enough for her to leave Stanford.
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2025 was 3.5 million cap. 25 players. Figure top 5 players on the team took up 2 million of the cap. That left 20 players making 1.5 million, or an average of 75K. If I put 10 of those players at 50K, then the other 10 would be at 100K. I'd put new elite college players at $100K - 150K. 2-3 years. The housing is nice, but it is usually 3 in a 3 bedroom place, so then maybe another $1000 - 1500 per month, or another 15K value per year, nothing to sneeze at. Getting into the NWSL sooner than later does give a better shot at the USWNT.
 
socalkdg said:
2025 was 3.5 million cap. 25 players. Figure top 5 players on the team took up 2 million of the cap. That left 20 players making 1.5 million, or an average of 75K. If I put 10 of those players at 50K, then the other 10 would be at 100K. I'd put new elite college players at $100K - 150K. 2-3 years. The housing is nice, but it is usually 3 in a 3 bedroom place, so then maybe another $1000 - 1500 per month, or another 15K value per year, nothing to sneeze at. Getting into the NWSL sooner than later does give a better shot at the USWNT.
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Usually pro players that leave college early or forgo college entirely have the cost of college included in their contract in some form.
 
socalkdg said:
2025 was 3.5 million cap. 25 players. Figure top 5 players on the team took up 2 million of the cap. That left 20 players making 1.5 million, or an average of 75K. If I put 10 of those players at 50K, then the other 10 would be at 100K. I'd put new elite college players at $100K - 150K. 2-3 years. The housing is nice, but it is usually 3 in a 3 bedroom place, so then maybe another $1000 - 1500 per month, or another 15K value per year, nothing to sneeze at. Getting into the NWSL sooner than later does give a better shot at the USWNT.
Click to expand...

With the numbers below, it’s still difficult to see why a student would choose an NWSL career over completing a Stanford degree.
  • The median starting salary for recent Stanford graduates is about $110K per year, though this varies significantly by major.
  • The average NWSL career lasts only three to four years and can be even shorter due to injury.
  • Projections suggest the average NWSL salary may reach roughly $83K by 2030 (article below)... still low.
When you compare the earning potential and career longevity, the math simply doesn’t support the choice.

girlssoccernetwork.com

How Much Money Do NWSL Players Make?

The NWSL has taken major steps in recent years to improve pay and working conditions for its athletes. Thanks to a historic Collective Bargaining
girlssoccernetwork.com girlssoccernetwork.com
 
Bay-tastic said:
With the numbers below, it’s still difficult to see why a student would choose an NWSL career over completing a Stanford degree.
  • The median starting salary for recent Stanford graduates is about $110K per year, though this varies significantly by major.
  • The average NWSL career lasts only three to four years and can be even shorter due to injury.
  • Projections suggest the average NWSL salary may reach roughly $83K by 2030 (article below)... still low.
When you compare the earning potential and career longevity, the math simply doesn’t support the choice.

girlssoccernetwork.com

How Much Money Do NWSL Players Make?

The NWSL has taken major steps in recent years to improve pay and working conditions for its athletes. Thanks to a historic Collective Bargaining
girlssoccernetwork.com girlssoccernetwork.com
Click to expand...

Again, just because this player gave up her final year of "eligibility" doesn't mean she won't graduate from Stanford. Maybe she has already finished her undergrad requirements? And if she hasn't/can't, then she can at a local Portland university. It's not so terrible.

My kid was offered a multi-year NWSL contract - but it was at the bottom-end of the salary range and made no sense when compared to what she's getting from her very good school. Makes sense...she's young. She's staying in college for now. But it makes sense for other players. Good for them.

The part that's difficult is - for those kids on the YNT track, those that are *consistently* called in at the younger ages, it becomes clear that the young players playing in the NWSL will be favored to some extent over those in college. That creates a weird incentive to take those crappy pro offers, hoping to boost your status with the national team.
 
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