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Jeff Kassouf
Denver Summit FC has reached an agreement with Mexico’s Pachuca to transfer defender Ayo Oke, potentially setting the record for the highest incoming transfer fee for an American player in NWSL history, as reported by sources to ESPN.
The soon-to-launch 2026 expansion team will pay Pachuca approximately $450,000 for Oke, according to a source. This amount could position Oke among the top transfers in NWSL history, though such figures are not always disclosed publicly by clubs.
In recent months, there have been more expensive intra-league transfers involving Americans, such as the $1.25 million deal for USWNT playmaker Jaedyn Shaw, who moved from North Carolina Courage to Gotham FC in September. Denver’s proactive approach in acquiring Oke, a U.S. youth international, highlights the NWSL’s ongoing efforts to revise its salary regulations to draw in and keep top talent, including domestic players.
A member of the USWNT’s U23 team during recent training sessions, Oke is a 22-year-old from Georgia who previously played college soccer at Cal and UCLA before signing with Pachuca in January 2025.
During her first season at Pachuca, the club captured the 2025 Clausura playoff championship and finished second in the 2025 Liga MX Apertura regular season, sharing points with eventual playoff winners Tigres, who won the tiebreaker.
Oke will be part of a Denver expansion roster that is still evolving. Among the players currently signed include former NWSL champions Kaleigh Kurtz, Ally Watt, and Carson Pickett.
The fee paid for Oke also underscores the rapid growth of the women’s soccer transfer market, which is expanding for younger players alongside established veterans.
The record for an incoming transfer fee in the NWSL was established in August when the Orlando Pride transferred $1.5 million to Tigres for Jacqui Ovalle, setting a world record at the time. This figure nearly doubled the previous world record held by Bay FC, who signed forward Racheal Kundananji in early 2024. Earlier that year, Orlando also paid $740,000 for forward Barbra Banda.
In 2024, the Houston Dash acquired Brazilian defender Tarciane from Corinthians for an estimated fee of around $485,000, as per reports from Brazil. The following year, Tarciane was transferred to Lyon for approximately double that amount.