Chelsea makes top defender for USA's gold medal-winning team at 2024 Paris Olympics the first million-dollar player in women's soccer history.

While Chelsea and the Wave have not released a figure, previous reports pegged the transfer fee at $1.1 million. That money could cover one-third of the Wave’s 2025 payroll. The National Women’s Soccer League caps payrolls at $3.3 million per team per year; top players make between $200,000 and $500,000 per season.

The deal gives Chelsea two of the very best center backs on the planet with Girma and Millie Bright, sending the USWNT defender to the former home of her national team coach Emma Hayes.

United States defender Naomi Girma has become women’s soccer’s first million-dollar player. The 24-year-old Girma completed her move from San Diego Wave to Chelsea for a reported 900,000 pounds ($1.1 million) on Sunday. Here’s a look at how the record transfer fee (in USD) in the women’s game has increased over the course of the century:

USA defender Naomi Girma says it was an "easy choice" after joining Chelsea for a world record fee in the region of £900,000.

The transfer agreement is for $1.1 million, according to The Athletic, the highest fee ever commanded for a transfer in the women's game. Girma, 24, was under contract with the Wave until 2026. She drew interest from French club Lyon and Arsenal in the Women's Super League.

The 24-year-old Naomi Girma has put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Women's Super League leaders after they fought off competition from Lyon for her signature

San Diego Wave FC is transferring U.S. women's national team defender Naomi Girma to Chelsea FC of the Women's Super League for a world-record transfer fee.

United States women's national team defender Naomi Girma has joined Women's Super League champions Chelsea for a world record transfer fee of over $1 million.

Naomi Girma can command a salary that is exponentially larger than what she was making in the National Women’s Soccer League

Women’s soccer has its first million-dollar player after USA defender Naomi Girma moved from San Diego Wave to Chelsea on Sunday.