Alex Morgan (r) will play her final pro game with the Wave on Sunday … without a national TV broadcast
Barring an unforeseen circumstance, Alex Morgan’s final professional soccer game will not get a national TV window.
The USWNT and NWSL star suddenly announced her retirement on social media earlier Thursday, stating her last game will be this Sunday. That San Diego Wave matchup against the N.C. Courage is slated to air on the league’s direct-to-consumer streaming service NWSL+ and local stations Fox 5/KUSI in San Diego.
According to sources close to the matter, the game will stay in its current timeslot of 8pm ET, with no plans to move it to a national partner. The local San Diego station is a Fox affiliate (owned by Nexstar), and Fox Sports does not have national rights to the NWSL. Current national media rightsholders for the NWSL are ESPN, CBS, Prime Video and ION.
It would be doubtful Morgan’s swan song would get broadcast TV coverage on Sunday night. CBS and ABC have highly rated entertainment programming on Sunday in prime time (ION has popular “NCIS” reruns). On cable, ESPN has MLB obligations and ESPN2 is set to air a rerun of the men’s U.S. Open championship match.
Morgan’s sudden retirement took execs by surprise. The NWSL and U.S. Soccer were informed of her decision late Tuesday afternoon, sources tell SBJ. Morgan told her teammates and San Diego Wave staff Wednesday.
Sources also noted that Morgan does not want to make her retirement a big affair. It’s still to-be-determined if she will speak after Sunday’s match.
Morgan had a substantial impact on the women’s game, leading the USWNT’s fight for equal pay and advocating for players around issues of systemic abuse. She also won two FIFA Women’s World Cups and one NWSL title. Morgan also announced she is pregnant with her second child.
The league plans to regroup around the Nov. 3 matchup — the Wave’s final season home game — to amplify Morgan’s legacy. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement to SBJ said Morgan has been “an extraordinary talent, a fierce competitor and an inspiring steward of the game whose leadership and skill has elevated every team she’s been a part of.”
