Sam Kerr is expected to miss out on a mega payday despite growing talks that she is set to leave Chelsea for a team in the United States.
The Athletic reports Kerr “is expected to depart Chelsea” when her contract expires at the end of the season, with the publication stating that Chelsea “understood Kerr’s exit was an eventuality”.
Kerr has played limited game time since returning from her knee injury, but she showed just how good she still is as she starred for the Matildas in their run to the Asian Cup Final in recent weeks.
Yet it is looking increasingly likely that the veteran striker’s future lies away from the Women’s Super League (WSL), with Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor looking to regenerate the powerhouse club.
If she does leave the England juggernaut, she is expected to sign with a team from the USA’s National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) next season, where the contracts being dished out to star players have been turning heads around the football world.
Kerr’s teammate Catarina Macario has already agreed terms on a five-year deal with the San Diego Wave worth $11 million in America’s NWSL, while Trinity Rodman recently signed a three-year deal with Washington Sprit worth $2.7 million per season.
However, the Australian’s potential deal may not be so lucrative given many of those deals have come courtesy of the new high impact player rule (HIP), which allows NWSL club to exceed the US women’s soccer league’s salary cap by up to $1.4m.
The HIP rule is designed to retain and attract high quality talent to the United States and it allows each club to exceed their salary cap by $1.4m to secure a player that meets a certain criteria.
But due to Kerr barely touching the football field in the past two years, the Matildas striker doesn’t meet the criteria required to qualify for the exemption despite being one of the top players in world football.
Given that the 2025 NWSL salary cap is $3.5 million per team and Kerr doesn’t qualify, it is likely she would actually earn less than her current $900,000 Chelsea contract.
To qualify a player must meet one of the below criteria:
– The player is listed on the SportsPro Media top 150 most marketable athletes withing a year prior to the current season
– The player is selected in the top 30 Ballon d’Or voting in the two years prior to the current league season
– The player is selected in the top 40 of the Guardian’s top 100 footballers in the world in the two years prior to the current league season
– The player is selected in the top 40 of the ESPN’s top 50 footballers in the world in the two years prior to the current season
– The player is selected as the NWSL MVP finalist within the past two league seasons
– The player was selected in the NWSL best XI first team within the past two years
However, the reality is that Kerr may not be concerned about the multimillion-dollar contract, given her earning capacity from sponsors such as Nike, Commonwealth Bank, Bonds, and Richard Mille.
Moving to America’s NWSL will also allow her to be closer to her wife Kristie Mewis’ family.
Mewis grew up in Massachusetts, so Boston Legacy FC would appear a likely destination if Kerr was to make the move to America. The American’s contract with West Ham expired last year.
Mewis, a former Team USA representative, gave birth to their son Jagger last year and the couple got married in Perth over the New Year.
Kerr was the WSL’s leading goalscorer in the 2021 and 2022 seasons as Chelsea went through a period of dominance, winning the past six WSL titles. She has scored 100 goals for the London-based club.
That streak appears set to end this season, though, with Mary Fowler’s Manchester City seven points clear of Chelsea in the latter stages of the 2025-26 campaign.
In 2024, Kerr signed a two-year extension with Chelsea after a cheeky video message pranking fans that she was leaving.
Chelsea have one of the most star-studded teams in Europe, boasting Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter, as well as England internationals Bright, Lucy Bronze, Hannah Hampton, Lauren James and Erin Cuthbert.
However, given many of their biggest stars are ageing, Bompaster seemingly views this as the time to start bringing in some of the younger talent from Europe’s top leagues.
The Chelsea coach has refused to weigh in on Kerr’s future. But Arsenal legend Ian Wright has urged the club not to hand her a small extension.
“What’s happening with Sam Kerr, what’s happening with Chelsea? Are they offering her a deal? I know there’ll be a queue for her, but are they doing another one of those situations where (they say) ‘Sam Kerr, we will offer you a year or an option’,” Wright said on the Crossways podcast earlier this month.
“I think that would be quite disrespectful to her, especially when she is coming back from that injury.
“She is unbelievable, one of the best in the world – to not give her that kind of contract where she can say, ‘Right, I can ease myself into it’, instead of trying to give her maybe another year then she’s rushing to try and do stuff.
“I think they should sign her up and on a good deal, not a (one) year.”
Former England captain Steph Houghton agreed: “She should stay.
“I think it would be stupid if she didn’t stay from a Chelsea point of view, because what she’s done for however many seasons in the WSL.”
Sam Kerr has scored 109 goals in 151 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions.
