24-year-old Deyna Castellanos is making the good kind of history. The Venezuelan-born fútbol star is set to become the highest-paid foreign player in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), with a contract reported to be worth more than 1.8 million over four years. The contract will run until 2026, with an option for 2027. At the moment, she is also the highest-paid Latina player in the NWSL.
The team that is signing her, Bay FC, will debut in the 2024 NWSL season with quite a pedigree behind it. It was co-founded by some familiar names, like U.S. Women’s National Team Legends Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton, and Leslie Osborne, alongside global investment firm Sixth Street.
Castellanos was previously with England’s Manchester City and Spain’s Atlético Madrid, where she won a Supercopa de España Femenina.
“I think the project is something that is really amazing,” Castellanos told ESPN. “To be part of the first group of girls that is gonna try to accomplish all the goals that we have is something very special.”
Bay FC is set to open their season against another team owned by a host of celebrities, among them Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria, Angel City FC. The game will take place at BMO Stadium on March 16.
Before Castellanos, María Sánchez held the record as the highest-paid player in the NWSL for a few months. Her 4-year deal was worth 1.5 million. In fact, Castellanos’s deal would have actually made her the highest-paid player in the NWSL period, if only for a few days. Mallory Swanson just signed a historic deal worth approximately 2 million dollars, which officially made her the league’s highest-paid player only a couple of weeks ago.