Alyssa Thompson is staying in Los Angeles with Angel City, and all it took was some NWSL Draft history to make it happen.

With the first overall pick of the 2023 NWSL Draft, Angel City made the Harvard-Westlake forward the first high school athlete to hear her name called first in the league's 10-year history.


Thompson's selection was widely expected after Angel City acquired the first overall pick from NJ/NY Gotham FC last week in a deal that saw it trade its natural No. 5 pick and a second-round pick in 2024, plus $200,000 in allocation money, to Portland Thorns FC for Yazmeen Ryan, then send Ryan and $250,000 to Gotham.

That deal made the 18-year-old Thompson essentially the most expensive player in league history, as the previous most-expensive deal by allocation money was the San Diego Wave's acquisition of USWNT star Alex Morgan for $275,000, per the Los Angeles Times.

What's more, Thompson's agents told the Times' Luca Evans that she has signed a three-year deal with Angel City they say is the largest for any NWSL player under 25.