NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder Yazmeen Ryan has been traded to Houston Dash in exchange for a record fee, per multiple reports.
Ryan was sent to Houston for a reported transfer fee of $400,000, per The Equalizer’s Jeff Kassouf. The transfer fee is reportedly thought to be the largest cash intra-league transfer fee in NWSL history.
Ryan will reportedly sign a new contract with the Dash, as her current deal with Gotham expires in 2026.
The 25-year-old midfielder has had another breakout season on a talent Gotham roster, finishing the season with five goals and five assists. She caught the eye of USWNT coach Emma Hayes, getting her first international call-up in October; since then, she has made four appearances with the USWNT.
The NWSL has never been transparent about things like transfer fees, making it difficult to confirm how the amount stacks up against previous fees. But $400,000 is certainly an eye-catching number, and it proves how much Ryan’s stock has gone up in the past few years: The Thorns sent the midfielder to Gotham in a three-team trade in 2023, and received $200,000 in allocation money from Angel City during the exchange.
The only potentially higher transaction came last season, when Houston sent forward MarÃa Sánchez to the San Diego Wave, and received a record-breaking $500,000 in allocation money in return. (Sánchez had requested a trade just months after signing the then-biggest contract in NWSL history.)
Ryan started her NWSL career with the Portland Thorns, earning a Supporters’ Shield and an NWSL Championship in her first two years in the league. She was a key part of Gotham FC’s championship-winning season in 2023.
With the trade, the midfielder will be returning to Texas, where she played for TCU for four seasons.
Per Kassouf, the trade took place before the transaction moratorium on Friday, Dec. 20. NWSL teams are not allowed to trade and sign players between Dec. 20 and Dec. 26 as part of a league-wide shutdown. The moratorium will lift on Friday, Dec. 27 to allow teams to start signing players again.
What does this mean for Gotham and the Dash?
The move for Ryan is big for the Dash, who finished the season dead last in the league with only five wins. Houston has shied away from big signings over the past few years, with their biggest player — Sánchez — leaving at the start of the season.
Now, Houston is finally making some moves. Earlier this month, the Dash signed Ryan’s Gotham teammate, free agent midfielder Delanie Sheehan. The two will be a good pair to shore up the Dash’s midfield.
As for Gotham, Ryan’s departure marks a trend.
This past season, Gotham’s success has come from its big-name signings. The team signed four USWNT stars last January, picking up Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, Tierna Davidson and Crystal Dunn in one go, while also bringing in international stars like Spanish forward Esther González, defender Jess Carter, German keeper Ann-Katrin Berger and many more.
But the team has also relied on a deep bench, with lesser-known players like Ryan and Sheehan holding down the fort. However, part of having a deep bench is that those strong players sitting on the bench might get a little restless.
The team only had one draft pick in the 2024 draft, defender Maycee Bell, and traded her to the North Carolina Courage halfway through the season because they frankly didn’t need her. And now that the season is over, Gotham’s players are starting to scatter. Besides Ryan and Sheehan heading to Houston, forward Lynn Williams is now in Seattle after requesting a trade. Players like defender Sam Hiatt and midfielder Maitane López parted ways with the team after getting less playing time.
It’s possible that Gotham has an overabundance of talent last year, and the players who didn’t see as much time on the field want to go somewhere where they’re more valued.
Gotham, meanwhile, has continued looking towards outside talent. With the midfield a little sparser without Ryan and Sheehan, the team signed 19-year-old Ghananian midfielder Stella Nyamekye to a three-year contract.