The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation ended in February 2022 with a $24 million settlement and a binding commitment from the federation to pay its women’s and men’s senior national teams at the same rate going forward, including on World Cup prize money. New collective bargaining agreements ratified three months later locked those terms in through 2028 and made U.S. Soccer the first national federation in the world to equalize FIFA prize money between its two senior teams.1U.S. Soccer. USSF Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic CBAs
What the Players Sued Over
On March 8, 2019, all 28 members of the USWNT filed a federal class-action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, seeking close to $67 million in back pay and damages.2Washington Post. USWNT Pay Lawsuit Timeline The case, Morgan v. United States Soccer Federation, Inc., brought two federal claims: an Equal Pay Act claim that the women were paid less than the men for substantially equal work, and a Title VII claim covering broader gender discrimination in working conditions, including travel, hotels, medical and training support, and playing surfaces.3University of Miami Law Review. USWNT Equal Pay Litigation
The pay structures the players complained about were built into the two teams’ separate collective bargaining agreements. A woman who won all 20 of her required friendly matches would earn $1,000 less than a man who lost all 20 of his.4NPR. Members of U.S. Women’s National Team File Federal Equal Pay Complaint The plaintiffs’ economic expert calculated that the women were owed roughly $66 million based on what they would have made under the men’s contract.5Taylor & Francis Online. USWNT Equal Pay Lawsuit Analysis The players were represented by Jeffrey Kessler and other attorneys at Winston & Strawn LLP, with counsel from Mayer Brown LLP.6Latham & Watkins. U.S. Soccer Pay End Women Team Equal Pay Suit
Why the Trial Court Threw Out the Pay Claim
On May 1, 2020, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted partial summary judgment to U.S. Soccer and dismissed the Equal Pay Act claim. The court’s reasoning turned on the two CBAs. The women had rejected a “pay-to-play” structure like the men’s and negotiated instead for guaranteed annual salaries, higher base compensation, and a larger number of contracted players.7NPR. Federal Judge Dismisses U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Equal Pay Claim Men were paid only when called into camp and playing.
Looking at total compensation from 2015 through 2019, Judge Klausner found the women had earned more in the aggregate: $24.5 million over 111 games (about $220,747 per game) versus $18.5 million over 87 games for the men (about $212,639 per game). The players could not, he wrote, “retroactively deem their CBA worse” than the men’s by pointing to what they would have earned under a structure they had turned down.8Employment Law Worldview. U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s Equal Pay Act Claim Dismissed The ruling effectively wiped out the roughly $66 million damages figure.
The judge also dismissed a claim about unequal playing surfaces but let the rest of the Title VII working conditions claims move toward trial.9Equalizer Soccer. Where Does the USWNT’s Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Go From Here Those were settled separately in December 2020, with U.S. Soccer agreeing to equalize travel, hotel, and staffing standards.10The Guardian. USWNT Settlement Equal Work Conditions The players appealed the pay ruling to the Ninth Circuit in April 2021, and the appeal was still pending when the case settled.
The Filing That Shifted the Case
In March 2020, U.S. Soccer’s own court filings caused a political crisis for the federation. Opposing the players’ summary judgment motion, its attorneys argued that playing on the men’s national team “requires a higher level of skill based on speed and strength” and that the men’s job “carries more responsibility within U.S. Soccer,” calling those claims “indisputable science.”11New York Times. USWNT Carlos Cordeiro U.S. Soccer12The Guardian. Carlos Cordeiro Resignation U.S. Soccer Sexism Sponsors including Coca-Cola, Visa, Deloitte, and Volkswagen condemned the arguments.13ESPN. USWNT Megan Rapinoe Blasts Ex-USSF President Cordeiro Players wore their warm-up jerseys inside out before a match on March 11. The next day, U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro resigned, saying he took “personal responsibility” for the filing. Vice president Cindy Parlow Cone, a former USWNT midfielder, took over.14WHYY. Cindy Parlow Cone Wins Four-Year Term as U.S. Soccer President She would later be credited with refusing to close any deal that didn’t equalize FIFA prize money.15Los Angeles Times. U.S. Soccer Cindy Parlow Cone Goals Equal Pay
What the $24 Million Settlement Covers
The settlement was announced on February 22, 2022. Of the $24 million total, $22 million is back pay divided among the 28 plaintiffs. The remaining $2 million funds players’ post-career and charitable projects in women’s soccer, with individual players eligible to apply for up to $50,000.16NPR. Women Soccer Contracts Equal Pay Settlement USWNT17NBC News. U.S. Soccer Women Soccer Stars Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit
The money was only part of the deal. U.S. Soccer also committed to pay the men’s and women’s senior national teams at an equal rate for all future friendlies and tournaments, World Cup included.18CNBC. USWNT and U.S. Soccer Federation Reach $24 Million Settlement Payment was contingent on ratification of new collective bargaining agreements with both players associations.16NPR. Women Soccer Contracts Equal Pay Settlement USWNT
How Equal Pay Actually Works Under the New CBAs
On May 18, 2022, U.S. Soccer, the USWNT Players Association, and the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association ratified matching CBAs running through 2028. The economic terms are identical for both teams, and the deals contain provisions that no other national federation offers:
- Both teams pool a portion of their FIFA World Cup prize money and split it equally. No other federation in the world does this.1U.S. Soccer. USSF Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic CBAs
- Broadcast, partner, and sponsorship revenue is split 50/50 between the two teams.1U.S. Soccer. USSF Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic CBAs
- Appearance fees and bonuses for friendlies and official competitions are identical.19CNBC. USWNT USMNT and U.S. Soccer Federation Announce Equal Pay Deals
- Venue quality, field surfaces, hotels, charter flights, and medical staffing must be equal.1U.S. Soccer. USSF Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic CBAs
- Benefits include a 401(k) with up to a 5% employer match, up to six months of paid parental leave, and health, dental, and vision insurance for selected players.1U.S. Soccer. USSF Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic CBAs
The trade-offs matter. The women gave up the guaranteed salaries that Judge Klausner had cited in dismissing their pay claim, and U.S. Soccer stopped covering NWSL salaries for USWNT players.1U.S. Soccer. USSF Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic CBAs
What It Has Meant in Practice
The prize-pooling mechanism paid out almost immediately. The U.S. men’s team earned roughly $13 million at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After a 10% deduction for U.S. Soccer youth programs, the pooled pot delivered about $6.7 million to USWNT players, more than the $4.3 million FIFA awarded to the Women’s World Cup champion.20ESPN. Equal Pay Explainer USWNT Prize Money Women World Cup The USWNT’s $5.85 million share from Qatar alone nearly matched the $6 million the women had earned from their previous two World Cup titles combined.15Los Angeles Times. U.S. Soccer Cindy Parlow Cone Goals Equal Pay The pooling continues through the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups, with the two teams sharing 80% of their combined prize money equally.21USA Today. FIFA 2026 World Cup Prize Money Record USWNT
The settlement equalized what U.S. Soccer controls, not what FIFA pays out globally. FIFA raised the Women’s World Cup prize pool from $30 million in 2019 to $110 million in 2023, still about a quarter of the $440 million paid at the 2022 men’s tournament.22ESPN. Women World Cup Prize Money 300 Percent One Third Men’s FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said he wants to equalize men’s and women’s World Cup prize money by the 2026 and 2027 tournaments; the 2026 men’s pool has been set at $655 million, and no women’s figure has been announced.21USA Today. FIFA 2026 World Cup Prize Money Record USWNT
The Federal Law the Case Produced
The lawsuit pushed Congress to act more broadly. The Equal Pay for Team USA Act, sponsored by Senators Maria Cantwell and Shelley Moore Capito, passed both chambers unanimously in December 2022 and was signed by President Biden on January 5, 2023 as Public Law 117-340.23U.S. Congress. Equal Pay for Team USA Act of 202224Amsterdam News. President Biden Signs Equal Pay for Team USA Act The law requires all 50 national governing bodies under the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to provide equal compensation, medical care, travel, and expense reimbursements regardless of gender, with decertification as the enforcement lever.25U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce. Historic Win for Women’s Equality in Sports The USOPC and each governing body must file annual compliance reports to Congress disaggregated by gender and race.