Sports
NWSL commish on new contract: ‘Intend’ to stay
NEW YORK — National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman said she plans to continue in her role, but she did not offer a tangible update on the potential renewal of her contract, which ends in the coming months.
“What I can say is that I intend to be here,” Berman told reporters from the league’s headquarters on Thursday. “I joined this league because I believe in the future of women’s sports and professional women’s soccer, and that’s all I can say.”
Berman signed a four-year contract to become commissioner of the league in early 2022.
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She addressed reporters on Thursday following two days of in-person meetings in New York among the league’s board of governors. Among the board’s most important topics in recent months has been Berman’s future and the potential renewal of her contract.
The NWSL board meetings in New York happened in the weeks after the league lost one of its most high-profile players, 20-year-old United States forward Alyssa Thompson, to Chelsea in a transfer on England’s deadline day. The move sparked further debate across the league about the NWSL’s ability to compete in a global market while maintaining a salary cap, which is currently set at $3.5 million per team.
“While I could understand the focus on the salary cap, the way that players make decisions about where to play is a complex set of considerations, and we will always look at that not in a myopic way, but holistically,” Berman said.
“We are quite confident that the value proposition that we offer to players is compelling and we’ll continue to attract and retain the best players.”
Player safety was a major topic of concern once again in Berman’s press briefing following several high-profile incidents at games this season.
The NWSL had its second major medical emergency of the season occur on Sunday when Racing Louisville FC midfielder Savannah DeMelo collapsed on the field at the halftime whistle in a game against Seattle Reign FC.
The match was suspended and completed two days later — in stark contrast to May, when Angel City FC defender Savy King was treated on the field for over 10 minutes for what turned out to be a heart abnormality. That game resumed after King was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and players were visibly upset.
Berman said on Thursday that the decision to suspend Sunday’s game was ultimately hers, and any similar situation is ultimately her call, but there are others in a “decision tree” empowered to make the call in her absence.
“Just to state the obvious, the decision to not continue the game was a no-brainer and did not require contemplation,” Berman said. “We at least now know how to manage those situations and are confident that hopefully we will never have to do them again.”
On Thursday, Berman also announced that the process to expand beyond 16 teams is now open, but she defined it as a “rolling process” rather than a bid with deadlines, as was the case in recent years.
“We’ve made the decision to shift to a rolling process mostly because we’ve been through this, two rounds, and so, we pretty much know the universe of who’s interested. There’s more than a dozen of them.
“Those conversations are ongoing. Each of them has a different perspective on how much time they need to launch, the investments they need to make to be successful, including potentially around infrastructure, and we want to not force a square peg into a round hole.”
The NWSL will expand to 16 teams next year with the introduction of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. Berman has said several times that there is “no reason” the NWSL cannot be as big as the 32-team NFL, although on Thursday she appeared to walk back the number of teams as more of an idea than a target or hard cap.
Berman also confirmed that the second division that the NWSL plans to operate will not launch next year, which the league initially indicated as a timeline. The league is now focused on launching a second division in 2027, she said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 3 seed Texas A&M showed the “grit” it has displayed throughout the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament in Sunday’s final, beating No. 1 seed Kentucky 3-0 to capture the program’s first national championship.
In the first all-SEC title-game showdown, the Aggies trailed by as many as six points in the first set and were down a set point. A kill by redshirt sophomore Kyndal Stowers tied the game at 24-24. A block by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla gave the Aggies a set point. And a Stowers kill sealed it.
The Aggies never trailed the rest of the way.
“As soon as we got within two, I was like, ‘Oh no’ for them,” Texas A&M coach Jamie Morrison said. “They should know better on this team. This team is not going to back down.”
The Aggies had a string of upsets just to make it to the title game, starting with a regional semifinal reverse sweep of No. 2 seed Louisville, followed by a regional final upset against previously undefeated No.1 Nebraska. Texas A&M continued its upset streak by sweeping No. 1 Pitt 3-0 in the semifinals before claiming the national title against Kentucky.
“I just said [to my team], ‘We’ve been here before. We’ve been there twice. I brought up the Louisville match,” Morrison said of his team’s first-set deficit. “We talked about Louisville being down 0-2. We talked about Nebraska. We said, ‘Hey, we’ve been here.’ … I just said, ‘It’s going to take one or two points, start to get firing, they’re going to be there.'”
In the second set, the Aggies held a consistent lead over the Wildcats, finishing 25-15 after an attack error by Kentucky. Texas A&M held onto its lead in the third set and clinched the title when senior middle blocker Cos-Okpalla’s kill brought the score to 25-20.
After leading her team with 11 kills, Texas A&M senior Logan Lednicky fought back tears as she looked back at her four-year career in College Station. The 6-foot-3 opposite hitter credited the nine seniors on her team for helping build this program.
“I was pretty emotional all day today just knowing that no matter the outcome of this game, it would be my last getting to represent A&M on my chest,” Lednicky said. “Being able to do this with these girls, end with [the trophy], end like this, I just can’t even believe it.”
Stowers, who had 10 kills in the title match, claimed the Most Outstanding Player award. The transfer from Baylor medically retired because of concussions before transferring to Texas A&M. Stowers had 17 kills against Louisville, 25 against Nebraska and 16 against Pitt.
“A year ago today, I sat on my couch and watched some good friends of mine actually win this game,” Stowers said of Penn State’s victory over Louisville. “Now, to be living that is genuinely surreal. It was a journey to get here. Good days; bad days. It took this guy sitting next to me [Morrison] believing in me after not playing volleyball for over a year and a half, to take me on his roster and coach me every single day.”
Throughout the NCAA tournament, Texas A&M credited its “grit.” The Aggies were two points away from elimination in the regional semifinals against Louisville. Since that upset, the Aggies outscored their opponents 317-276.
“It’s a testament to the work we put in in the practice gym and just generally in all of our careers,” Lednicky said after the semifinals. “It’s been a long time coming for us, a lot of work put into this moment.”
Kentucky had won four matches in a row against Texas A&M, including a four-set victory Oct. 8. Wildcats coach Craig Skinner pointed to A&M’s passing as the difference.
“They handled our serve really well early,” Skinner said. “Our serving pressure didn’t allow them to get in sync when we were down at College Station [in October]. Today, they were in sync.
“Credit their first contact with their passers of [Ava] Underwood, [Addi] Applegate, [Emily] Hellmuth and Stowers of really doing a good job of providing [Maddie] Waak opportunities to set their whole offense. It was a difficult thing to try and score points on defense.”
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Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant was carted off the field in the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars after a vicious hit that was scary to look at.
Bryant was attempting to make a catch with just seconds left at Empower Field when Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown came flying in and crashed into him to break it up.
One could hear how hard Bryant was hit with the broadcast picking up the cracking of helmet and pads as he went to the turf.
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Pat Bryant of the Denver Broncos is carted off the field during the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Empower Field At Mile High on Dec. 21, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Bryant stayed down on the field after the play, and he wasn’t moving much as Broncos trainers came running out to look at him on the turf.
After several minutes of evaluation, Bryant was loaded onto a stretcher and carted off the field. There was obvious concern throughout the stadium for Bryant, and it was later reported that he was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
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Broncos head coach Sean Payton, speaking after his first loss in 12 games, gave an update on Bryant, saying that he “had movement” in his extremities, and it was “encouraging” to see, per 9News’ Mike Klis.
Of course, any time a player is loaded onto a stretcher, thoughts of the worst immediately enter the mind. Luckily, Bryant’s hospital visit was only to ensure everything was fine.
Pat Bryant of the Denver Broncos is carted off the field during the fourth quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Empower Field At Mile High on Dec. 21, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
The Broncos moved to 12-3 after the loss at home, a 34-20 defeat at the hands of a red-hot Jaguars squad who have now won six straight games.
At 11-4, the Jaguars remain one win above the Houston Texans for the AFC South lead, though they are likely headed to the playoffs one way or another.
Meanwhile, the Broncos have already clinched their shot at a Vince Lombardi Trophy, having won 12 games this season for the best record in the AFC to date. Only the New England Patriots could reach 12 wins this week if they defeat the Baltimore Ravens on “Sunday Night Football.”
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Bryant finished the game with five catches for 42 yards. He has totaled 27 catches for 347 yards and a touchdown this season in a loaded Broncos receiving room.
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