Alex Morgan and Brianna Pinto talk historic new contract

We've got some breaking news, y'all. The National Women's Soccer League Players Association agreeing to a historic new contract with the league. And joining us now are soccer stars Alex Morgan and Brianna Pinto, who were both on the bargaining committee. I am like bouncing in my seat right now because I can't wait for people to hear this. Thank you, ladies, so much. Let me start with you, Alex. This contract is groundbreaking. Let's talk about some of the highlights. First of all, it eliminates the draft. So incoming players are free to sign with any team. Players will become free agents after their contracts expire. Players must agree to any trades. Alex, is this all about giving players a say in where they play? Hi, Robin. First of all, good to see you. And this is such a groundbreaking contract for us. It's really never happened in any American sports league, all of those three that you just named. And just not having a draft, although exciting in the moment, to be able to choose where you want to live, where you want to play, with all considerations of reproductive rights, tax laws, culture and facilities and everything within a team in a state that's provided. It's so important for the player to have that power back and to be able to choose. Because in most professions, in most industries, you are able to choose where you go. I know you all are very grateful about playing your sport. And Brianna, are there concerns, though, that these new rules could allow, you know, like bigger market teams to sign the top prospects, the free agents, and leaving those smaller revenue teams out in the cold? No, I think this is such a massive accomplishment for our players because it allows the clubs to make the decision to provide a professional environment that appeals to players all across the world. We're really excited about the newfound agency over getting to choose where you play because this is something that players have been looking forward to for years. And also, Brianna, all contracts guaranteed, much like every other sport except for football. I know that was very important. Why? That is important to us because it protects you from situations that are outside of your control, whether that be a health condition, an injury, or a dip in on-field playing performance. You will be guaranteed that you will have your contract through the end of your term. And Alex, Alex, my friend, you are a proud mama. And there's also a family building benefit. Please tell everybody about that. Yeah, I'm really proud of this part of our contract. We're able to now travel with our children and bring a child care provider, but also look at future planning as well for our families. And that's providing players with access to fertility clinics and a lot of other resources that weren't available to us before. And these are sort of things that you don't see in men's leagues. And so we had to think outside of the box and look at protecting and supporting moms as much as possible because I didn't want to choose back in 2019. I was at the height of my career and I didn't want to choose to keep playing soccer or be a mom. I wanted to be able to do both. And so to be a part of this and actually have a say in this contract, that is so groundbreaking. I'm really proud of. You do both and you do both so exceptionally well, Alex. Do you expect players' unions from other sports to try to get some of these same provisions in their contracts? Do you see that happening maybe? I think that what we're doing is making changes that puts a little bit of the power back in the players. And I can definitely see some other leagues looking towards the NWSL and seeing how we attain these benefits within our contract and how they could do that. I mean, there's leagues that have been around for 50 or 100 years that haven't been able to attain the things that we have in our contract. And we're only in our 12th year of the NWSL. So it's pretty incredible what we've been able to achieve. And I hope this does kickstart a little bit more of putting a little more freedom and choice back into the players' hands. And I agree with you. And Brianna, I'm going to give you the final question here. You were in the room for those final negotiations. It's unprecedented for a league to give up so much control to the players. Why do you think the league agreed to all of this? Well, first of all, it was an honor to be in the room for the bargaining. I was one of five current NWSL players that were present. And it helped the league put names to faces and see our true humanity. I think that made it ever-present about the demands that we were putting on the league. But overall, we learned that when the players win, we all win. So we're super excited about this accomplishment. And my Felisa and Brianna and Alex, you should know, all of us here in the studio, we're just beaming. We're just so beaming. You know how we feel about y'all. And so grateful that you came here to Good Morning America to share this fantastic news. The best to you all. Thank you so much. Thank you for having us. All right, you take care.