Settling a long-term dispute, the dominant US Women’s National Soccer Team has achieved its goal of achieving pay equity with the less-successful men’s team in a new agreement with the US Soccer Federation, the organization announced Wednesday.
Under new collective bargaining agreements signed with both the men’s and women’s teams, the bonuses for the two teams will be placed in a common pool and distributed equally between the members of the two squads. For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar the bonus pool will be $400 million, while the bonuses for the women’s tournament in Australia in 2023 will be $60 million. The teams will also split revenues received for product and commercial revenue.
Players will also get equal compensation for “friendly” matches, with pay between $13,000-$18,000 for a win, $10,000-$12,000 for a draw and $8,000 for a loss, with pay dependent on the opponent’s international ranking. For World Cup matches, each player will receive a $10,000 game bonus, plus an additional $14,000 for a win or $10,000 for a tie.
The US women’s team, which has won far more matches and tournaments than the men’s team and garnered the top international ranking, was paid about one-sixth the amount the men were.