United States women’s soccer team reaches historic $33 million equal pay deal with US Soccer

After a six-year legal battle, past and present players of the United States women’s national soccer team have reached a historic agreement with their governing body, US Soccer, on equal pay.

The deal is one of the largest in US soccer history, promising players $24 million (A$33.2 million) – largely in back pay – as well as a promise to equalize bonuses and prize money to match those of their male colleagues.

US Soccer and the players reached an agreement Tuesday, with most of the money split among the group of several dozen athletes, including World Cup stars Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and recently retired Carli Lloyd.

The governing body also agreed to establish a $2 million retirement fund to support players in their post-football careers as well as other charitable initiatives.

Although a U.S. judge rejected players’ equal pay arguments in 2020 (a decision that was appealed by players), the eight-figure settlement is a tacit admission by U.S. Soccer that payments for the women’s and men’s teams had been unequal for years.

As part of this legal battle, the two sides settled the working conditions part in December 2020, which focused on inequalities in travel, housing and playing surfaces. However, their request for equal pay was rejected by a judge.

As such, Tuesday’s settlement represents an unexpected victory for the players, who were not only able to secure financial compensation that repaired historic underpayments, but also a commitment from the federation to adopt the same equal pay reforms that the judge rejected two years ago.

As part of the agreement, US Soccer committed to equalizing bonuses between the men’s and women’s national teams in all competitions, including the World Cup, in the teams’ upcoming collective bargaining agreements.

“For our generation, knowing that we’re going to leave the game in an exponentially better place than when we found it, that’s everything,” Rapinoe said.

“That’s what it’s about. Because, to be honest, there’s no justice in any of this if we don’t make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The long legal battle, which began in 2016, has taken a toll on American soccer, both financially and in terms of reputation.

The federation’s struggle against the reigning World Cup champions has seen major sponsors pull out and fans turn their backs, particularly after legal complaints emerged in which US Soccer claimed female players had less physical capabilities and responsibility than their male counterparts.

Outrage over these complaints led to the resignation of former President Carlos Cordeiro, with former United States women’s national team player Cindy Parlow Cone replacing him in March 2020.

“This is just a step toward rebuilding the relationship with the women’s team,” Cone said.

“I think it’s a great achievement and I’m excited about the future and working with them. We can now focus on other things, most importantly growing the game at all levels and increasing opportunities for girls and women.”

The mechanisms for equalizing World Cup bonuses remain to be determined. Until now, American soccer has based its bonuses on payments from FIFA, which offered a $400 million prize pool for the men’s World Cup in 2018, including $38 million for champion France, while the women’s World Cup only received a total of $30 million, including $4 million for the winning U.S. team.

The men’s and women’s teams have already held joint negotiations with US Soccer, which is seeking a single collective bargaining agreement covering both teams.

If such a deal is reached, male players will likely have to agree to share or cede millions of dollars in potential payments to FIFA and pay them back to their female counterparts.

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In doing so, they would follow the lead of other countries, including Australia, Norway, the Netherlands and Brazil, who have all committed to reducing the gender pay gap at national team level.

The U.S. women’s team has won four World Cups since the tournament began in 1985, while the men’s team has not reached the semifinals since 1930.