USWNT forward Mallory Swanson would have changed NWSL teams if husband and MLB star Dansby Swanson hadn’t signed with the Cubs.
WHAT HAPPENED? Dansby Swanson, the famous baseball player married to the USWNT’s Mallory Swanson (formerly Mallory Pugh), claimed that the NWSL would have re-located his wife from the Chicago Red Stars to the club closest to him if he signed with an MLB team outside Chicago.
WHAT THEY SAID: “This is technically her last season in Chicago,’’ Dansby Swanson told USA Today. “But the [NWSL] pretty much made a promise that they would do right by her. Say I had signed with the Dodgers, they would have traded her to a team that’s in Los Angeles. They were very open to that. And since I’m in Chicago now, I think they’re going to be OK keeping her around.’’
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mallory Swanson is fresh off an unbelievable set of performances at the SheBelieves Cup in which she underlined her importance to the USWNT ahead of this summer’s World Cup. At 24 years old, she could be one of the main faces of women’s soccer in the United States for the next decade.
And if she’s committed to living near her husband long-term, it’s great news for the Red Stars. Dansby Swanson’s contract with the Cubs is seven years (and worth a nice $177 million).
