Seattle Reign and Brittany Ratcliffe Exercise Mutual Option for 2027
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - With their second transaction in as many days, the Seattle Reign and veteran forward Brittany Ratcliffe exercised her mutual option through the 2027 NWSL season. The New Jersey native has been a consistent presence with the Reign during her first year with the club, appearing in all 11 regular-season matches for Seattle.
Seattle Reign FC forward Brittany Ratcliffe during the club’s April 26th, 2026, match against the Utah Royals at Lumen Field. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
The 32-year-old forward is on her sixth club in the NWSL, having been around long enough to have been drafted by the Boston Breakers and now playing against the expansion side Boston Legacy. While making just two starts for the Reign, Ratcliffe shares the club lead in goals, with two. Her infusion into matches as a substitute has often provided an attacking boost for Seattle, highlighted by her debut against Orlando, when she netted the winning goal.
Ratcliffe certainly brings a strong pedigree of success with her, competing on rosters that have finished third or higher in the league table the last three years. Brittany is also a three-time NWSL Challenge Cup champion and helped the Washington Spirit reach back-to-back NWSL Championship appearances.
She hasn’t been a prolific scorer in any particular season, but provides a steady presence for Seattle as they figure out how to replace Lynn Biyendolo, who is out until sometime after this international break.
The Reign continue to work on building consistent pressure with a still somewhat young roster, and while Brittany isn’t the answer to all of their issues up top, she’s been a solid addition to this year’s group. Having the proud South Jersey native around benefits Seattle in a few ways, as many of the young attacking players have praised her leadership and advice.
Additionally, Ratcliffe has had positive things to say about the club before she played a regular-season match. Brittany mentioned having built relationships with head coach Laura Harvey and general manager Lesle Gallimore, and being aware of the club's history and enjoying the city of Seattle. It could be that she did not want to reveal other offers she had on the table, but Ratcliffe remarked, “The Reign,” when asked what options she considered during free agency. In the same quote, Brittany stated she told Harvey and Gallimore that Seattle was the place that she wanted to be.
“I feel like it was just a no-brainer; it’s such a club, such a good city, such a good sports city. Now that it’s day one, I’m like, ‘I made the right decision. I’m really happy.’ The girls have been great, the staff has been great, it feels like I’ve been here for eight years, in a good way.”
The love that Ratcliffe has shown the club and her teammates has been reciprocated, with a fellow veteran of the league praising her following the team’s victory over the Kansas City Current during the Reign’s Spokane stint earlier this year, as well as a month ago before the clubs’ match in Boston.
It’s clear that Ratcliffe has truly integrated herself well into the roster and has been very personable with the entire locker room as the group navigates the ups and downs of their 2026 NWSL campaign to this point.
“Britt’s awesome. I’ve been in the league the same amount of time as her, and she’s been a player that you hate to play against because she’s very tenacious. She’s fast, she wants to score, she’s good defensively, and on top of being a great soccer player, she’s such a cool person. She came in and immediately fit in with the team. She has that mentality of always wanting to work hard; she’s very outgoing, and she just fit in perfectly.”
“She’s been amazing, on and off the field. She’s always giving 110% and really setting the standard, on and off the field. I think I’ve been able to learn from a lot of veteran players like Jess, Lu, Lynn, and obviously this year, getting to know Britt; she’s definitely in that category. She’s just been so insightful, just bouncing ideas off her, but really she is such a leader in the way that she leads by example. I’ve really enjoyed my time with her so far.”
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