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Charlotte Gibson, ESPN
NWSL standout Madison Hammond signed a two-year extension contract through the 2025 season with Angel City FC, the club confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Hammond, a restricted free agent, told ESPN that discussions on extending her contract started during the back half of the 2023 season.
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“I had this opportunity to actually think about what I want in the next two years, and not only as a soccer player, but what I can get from off the field and what I can do with my life as a 26-year-old,” Hammond says.
“It allowed me to be like, ‘Where would I want to live? What would I want to do?’ And I feel like that’s something that a lot of female athletes and a lot of generations of female athletes have never had the opportunity to do.”
Ahead of the 2020 Challenge Cup, Hammond joined the OL Reign as a non-roster invitee.
Soon after, she signed a contract with the club and made her pro debut in the 2020 Fall Series.
Hammond, of Black, Navajo and San Felipe Pueblo descent, became the first-ever Native American to play in the NWSL.
During the 2023 season, the 26-year-old played 1,285 minutes over 20 games with 14 starts.
Hammond’s stats significantly increased from her first season with Angel City in 2022 after being traded from OL Reign FC (now Seattle Reign), where she logged 319 minutes over nine games with three starts.
When Angel City made the 2023 playoffs in October, it solidified Hammond’s decision to stay with the club and continue to “build off” what she’d been working towards with Angel City.
For Angel City general manager Angela Hucles Mangano, Hammond’s development over the past season helped solidify her name on the roster.
“Her level of what she was holding her standards to has increased this past season which helped her performances. I think we are seeing a Madison who is entering her prime. She offered us stability, but I think she has more stability in her role for this team.”
“I’m not here to just be a one-of-one,” Hammond said. “I see the numbers. I see the stats. I just want more for myself now. I want to step more into being a leader. I would like to believe this is the beginning of my prime, my best soccer.”
She added: “There were so many different layers to being a young player, being a rookie, being the first Native American to play in the NWSL, trying to fight for playing time like every other young player, and then also wondering if you’re doing enough for Black communities. Are you doing enough for Native communities? Are you being a good activist? Are you being a good professional soccer player? And I’ve come more to the realization that a lot of the answers to those questions are: Yes.”
Hammond will be listed as a midfielder for Angel City as she enters her fifth NSWL season.
She’s played the entire back line throughout her career and adapted from left to right as a fullback and center back.
Last season, Angel City sometimes asked her to play midfield, but she was officially listed as a defender.
“I have had to adapt my whole life for my position. I think it’s always been one of my best assets,” Hammond said. “I really made a good claim for myself to be a midfielder. In my heart of hearts, in my deepest part of my soul, I’ve always wanted to be a midfielder.
“It’s hard to play midfield. You have to be tactical. You have to be a leader. And I think it comes with a lot more responsibility that I don’t think I was actually ready for as a younger player. But now, I just feel really excited about it and don’t ever want to leave. No one can take me from there.”
Fortunately for Hammond, Angel City agrees on her position.
“I think how Angel City sees her, how head coach Becki Tweed sees her and the role that she plays, she’s a midfielder for us,” Hucles Mangano said. “She is ready to take on more of a leadership role. And in this position, you are more of a quarterback and setting the plays.”
This past season, Hammond said a shift happened for her on the field when she focused on going to therapy, grounding herself and being consistent. And as a result, she started to play better and believe in herself.
“Right now, this feels like the precursor to my prime,” Hammond said.