Seattle Reign FC's Jess Fishlock recently retired from international duty after two decades with Wales, but she's not done yet. The midfielder has signed a new one-year contract to stay with the Reign in 2026, which will mark nearly 14 years in Seattle.
"When I came back from the Euros, I just felt a little different," Fishlock told ESPN. "Something had shifted perhaps in what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go, and I think that I'm still such a competitor. That will never leave me, unfortunately, which is a gift. Even though its 14 years in the making -- golly -- I still really want to bring a championship to Seattle."
Fishlock is the only player in the NWSL who is still active with her original team from when the league launched in 2013.
Longtime teammate Lauren Barnes had also spent every season with Seattle since 2013. Barnes retired at the end of the 2025 season, which saw the Reign knocked out in the quarterfinals against the Orlando Pride.
Chicago Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and Angel City forward Sydney Leroux are the only two other players still active in the NWSL from that inaugural season.
Both players have played for multiple teams. Naeher has not yet publicly committed to playing another season and is out of contract, and Leroux did not play in 2025 after taking a mental health leave.
Fishlock was integral to the Reign's dominant 2014 and 2015 NWSL Shield-winning seasons, and she was named the NWSL MVP in 2021.
She has made the NWSL's Best XI seven times and has 48 goals and 30 assists for Seattle, the most goal contributions in club history.
Fishlock, who turns 39 in January, led the Reign in scoring in 2025 with six goals and two assists. She told ESPN that she felt renewed joy at the start of the 2025 season at a club in transition on the field, with a new batch of young players, and off the field as new ownership settles into its role.
"For me, it's always been about my body," Fishlock said. "My brain on the field and my football knowledge and experience, that's just never going to go away; that's always going to be there. But it's, can my body keep up with what my mind is doing? And so far, it is."
Fishlock said that the Reign organization has allowed her to manage her body and take time off when needed, which she said is a credit to the long-standing relationships she has in Seattle.
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Fishlock said that a one-year deal is perfect for her to make sure she can evaluate her body on a rolling basis.
"Jess sees the game at a level that very few players do and that comes from years of experience at the highest level," Reign head coach Laura Harvey said.
"Her tactical awareness, ability to adapt in big moments and commitment to elevating the players around her will continue to drive this team forward. She leads by example every single day, and having her experience and presence in the locker room is invaluable as we push into 2026."
Fishlock announced her retirement from international play last month after guiding Wales to the final stage of the Women's European Championship for the first time in 2025, their first major tournament of any kind.
She scored Wales' first goal at the competition, and in doing so became the oldest goalscorer in Women's Euro history.
She told ESPN that she felt so rejuvenated by the experience that she nearly thought twice about retiring from Wales, but she is excited to now focus entirely on her club for the first time in her career.
Fishlock has been around Seattle for the highs -- three NWSL Shields -- and the lows -- three losses in the NWSL Championship match.
She has seen the team move from Seattle to Tacoma, Washington, and back, changing venues, ownership and branding several times as it attempted to establish a foothold and, at one point, stave off relocation.
That connection continues to drive Fishlock. She said that even if she entertained the idea of playing somewhere else and winning a trophy, it would not mean as much.
"There's something about going through this journey with a singular club -- going through the highs and the lows and going through the rebuild, going through moving around Washington to try and find and connect with the fan bases," she said.
"It's something about that and that whole journey and relationship that I think makes everything so much better when it happens. It makes the lows so much worse because you have this deep connection with your club and your fan base, but it makes the highs so much higher for the same reason.
"Maybe it's because I come from Europe where there is a little bit more stability. From the moment I moved here and got in with Seattle, I don't think I've ever wanted to leave. I've wanted to build my whole career here because of the deep meaning that it has for me."