The Orlando Pride acquired midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard in a trade with the Washington Spirit. It was a weirdly timed Christmas Eve swap on Dec. 24, 2020 that sent USWNT defender Emily Sonnett to Washington without ever having played a minute with Orlando. The Pride also received $140,000 in Allocation Money, the Spirit’s first-round pick in either 2022 or 2023, and the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, which turned out to be UCLA midfielder Viviana Villacorta.
It was a big haul for Sonnett but the real value of the trade may not be known for some time.