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Trinity Rodman has carved her name deeper into the record books after becoming the world's highest-paid women's footballer following a controversial rule change. On Thursday, Rodman, who is dating tennis star Ben Shelton, and the Washington Spirit reached an agreement on a three-year deal featuring an annual wage exceeding one million dollars.

The lucrative contract brings a ceremonial conclusion to a months-long dispute between the star striker and NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, who had previously turned down a multi-year proposal put forward by Washington. "It feels amazing, I'm very happy, I'm very blessed," Rodman said after signing her contract. "I think it's a monumental and game-changing moment right now. I can't even describe in words what it feels like.

"Obviously everyone's going to have their different thoughts and opinions about it, but I've never really cared. So that doesn't change anything for me.

"I've always had a vision of kind of an idea of what I want my legacy to be and continue to be. For me we're doing that, with help obviously, and I'm so grateful for that."

"But yeah i think this is just opening up opportunities for American girls with dreams, and I'm one and was one of them, and so im very grateful about that. And it's perfect timing with the World Cup happening in the U.S. too."

Not long ago, Rodman and the Spirit seemed destined for an unavoidable split as she attracted significant attention from England. Given the constraints of the NWSL's salary cap, which stood at $3.5million per team last season, Washington couldn't match the figures being offered to the 23-year-old by overseas clubs.

As a solution, the Spirit and Rodman negotiated a heavily backloaded four-year contract worth over $1m annually. However, Berman quickly rejected the arrangement, contending that it breached the "spirit" of the league's regulations and openly sidestepped the salary cap.

In reply, the NWSLPA lodged a grievance against the league on Rodman's behalf, accusing Berman of violating several CBA provisions and committing a "flagrant violation" of the player's free agency rights.

Then last month, the NWSL unveiled the 'High Impact Player' rule - aptly dubbed the 'Rodman Rule' - which would permit clubs to exceed the salary cap by up to $1m for marquee players who satisfy predetermined criteria.

However, the new regulation sparked fierce opposition from the NWSLPA, which submitted a grievance against the league on 14 January alleging that it contravened the CBA since it was implemented unilaterally and could undermine genuine negotiation in the open market. "The NWSL Players Association opposes the League's decision to move forward without bargaining over the High Impact Player Rule," the union declared in an official statement.

"Under federal labor law, changes to compensation under the salary cap are a mandatory subject of bargaining - not a matter of unilateral discretion. Fair pay is realized through fair, collectively bargained compensation systems, not arbitrary classifications.

"A league that truly believes in the value of its Players would not be afraid to bargain over it."

This article first appeared on Mirror US.