USWNT Equal Pay Lawsuit: Class Action, $24M Settlement, and CBAs

The U.S. Women’s National Team’s equal pay lawsuit ended in February 2022, when 28 players and the U.S. Soccer Federation agreed to a $24 million settlement resolving claims that the federation had paid its women’s players less than the men despite comparable or better results. The deal was tied to new collective bargaining agreements, finalized three months later, that equalized compensation across the two national teams, and it helped push a federal law extending equal pay to all U.S. athletes in global competition.¹²

What the Players Alleged

The dispute began publicly on March 31, 2016, when five players — Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, and Becky Sauerbrunn — filed a wage discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They pointed to U.S. Soccer’s own 2015 financial report, which showed the women’s team generating nearly $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team while being paid roughly four times less.³

The gap ran through nearly every line of compensation. A top female player earned $72,000 for playing 20 friendlies; a male player who lost all 20 would still take home $1,000 more. Bonuses for winning a friendly ran $1,350 for the women against a guaranteed $5,000 for the men, with the men’s figure rising as high as $17,625 depending on opponent ranking. Even the per diem was unequal: $60 a day for women, $75 for men.³

U.S. Soccer responded that it was in the middle of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement and pointed to benefits female players received, including full-time salaries and federation funding of the National Women’s Soccer League. A 2017 CBA raised base pay by more than 30 percent and improved match bonuses but left the broader equal-pay question unresolved.⁴

The 2019 Class Action

After the EEOC issued right-to-sue letters, 28 members of the team filed a class action against the U.S. Soccer Federation on March 8, 2019, International Women’s Day. Morgan v. U.S. Soccer Federation was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, case number 2:19-cv-01717.⁵

The complaint carried two core claims. Under the Equal Pay Act, the players alleged U.S. Soccer paid them less than similarly situated men despite superior on-field results. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, they alleged disparate treatment in pay, playing and training conditions, travel, game promotion, and developmental support.⁵ Pretrial filings put the players’ demand for back pay and damages at roughly $67 million.⁴

The Federation’s Legal Argument and Cordeiro’s Resignation

Early in 2020, U.S. Soccer filed court papers arguing that men’s and women’s players did not perform equal work because the men’s game required “a higher level of skill based on speed and strength,” and that the men’s position “carries more responsibility within U.S. Soccer than the job of WNT player.”⁶

The reaction was immediate. Sponsors including Coca-Cola, Visa, Budweiser, and Deloitte publicly condemned the filing. On March 12, 2020, U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro resigned, calling the arguments “unacceptable and inexcusable” and acknowledging he had not fully reviewed them before submission. Cindy Parlow Cone, a member of the 1999 World Cup–winning squad, succeeded him and became the first woman to lead the federation.⁷

The Summary Judgment Setback

On May 1, 2020, Judge R. Gary Klausner granted summary judgment to U.S. Soccer on the Equal Pay Act claim. His reasoning turned on the structural differences between the two CBAs: the women’s team had rejected a pay-to-play structure like the men’s and instead negotiated a contract weighted toward guaranteed base pay and a larger pool of contracted players, with smaller per-game bonuses.⁸

Klausner cited compensation data showing that during the 2015–2019 class period the women’s team earned $24.5 million overall, averaging about $220,747 per game, compared with $18.5 million and about $212,639 per game for the men. He concluded that the players could not “retroactively deem their CBA worse than the MNT CBA by reference to what they would have made” under the pay structure they had turned down.⁸⁵⁴

The players appealed to the Ninth Circuit on April 14, 2021, arguing that Klausner had used the wrong legal yardstick by comparing total compensation instead of the rate of pay, and had wrongly treated the women’s CBA as a waiver of their equal-pay rights. The EEOC filed an amicus brief supporting reversal, noting that under its regulations a collectively bargained pay disparity is not a valid defense.⁹

The $24 Million Settlement

The Ninth Circuit never had to rule. On February 22, 2022, the parties announced a settlement in which U.S. Soccer would pay $24 million: $22 million distributed directly to the 28 named plaintiffs and $2 million placed into a fund for players’ post-career goals and charitable work supporting women and girls in soccer. Individual players could apply for up to $50,000 from that fund.²¹⁰

The $22 million player portion would be split according to a methodology proposed by the players and approved by the court; individual amounts were not publicly reported.² The settlement was conditioned on the negotiation of new collective bargaining agreements that would equalize pay going forward.¹¹ A federal judge in Los Angeles granted preliminary approval in August 2022 and final approval on December 13, 2022.¹⁰

The Equal-Pay CBAs That Made the Deal Real

On May 18, 2022, U.S. Soccer, the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association, and the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association finalized new collective bargaining agreements running through 2028. The deals set identical economic terms for men’s and women’s players across all competitions and made U.S. Soccer the first national federation in the world to equalize FIFA World Cup prize money.¹²

The World Cup equalization runs through pooling. Prize money from the 2022 men’s and 2023 women’s tournaments, and again from the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s tournaments, is combined and shared by percentage across both rosters. For other competitions and friendlies, the agreements provide identical appearance fees and performance bonuses keyed to opponent ranking and result. Broadcast, sponsorship, and partner revenue is split 50/50 between the two teams, and players share in home-match ticket revenue.¹³

Working conditions were equalized alongside pay. Both teams get equal-quality venues, field surfaces, hotel accommodations, and charter travel, and equal staffing for training, recovery, and rehabilitation. All players receive a 401(k) with a U.S. Soccer match of up to five percent. Female players on the Benefits roster receive health, dental, and vision insurance, up to six months of paid parental leave, and partial income replacement for soccer-related injuries or mental health conditions. Childcare is provided for all players during training camps and matches.¹²

The Federal Law That Followed

The lawsuit’s reach extended into federal statute. The Equal Pay for Team USA Act, introduced in 2019 by Senators Maria Cantwell and Shelley Moore Capito, passed the Senate on December 8, 2022, and the House on December 21, 2022. President Biden signed it on January 5, 2023, as Public Law 117-340.¹⁴

The law reaches beyond soccer. It requires that all athletes representing the United States in global competitions, including the Olympics, Paralympics, and World Cup, receive equal pay, medical care, travel, and expense reimbursement regardless of gender. It applies to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and 50 national governing bodies, with oversight and compliance reporting built in.¹⁵

1
New York Times. U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Settles Equal Pay Lawsuit
2
ESPN. USWNT, U.S. Soccer Federation Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit for $24 Million
3
NPR. Members of U.S. Women’s National Team File Federal Equal Pay Complaint
4
New York Times. The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Fight for Equal Pay
5
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. Morgan v. U.S. Soccer Federation
6
New York Times. U.S. Soccer President Resigns Amid Equal Pay Controversy
7
NPR. Head of U.S. Soccer Federation Resigns Amid Equal Pay Controversy
8
NPR. Federal Judge Dismisses U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Equal Pay Claim
9
EEOC. Morgan v. USSF Ninth Circuit Amicus Brief
10
CBS News. Judge Approves $24 Million Equal Pay Deal for U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
11
U.S. Soccer. U.S. Soccer, USWNT Players Reach Agreement to Resolve Longstanding Equal Pay Dispute
12
U.S. Soccer. USSF, Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic Collective Bargaining Agreements
13
CBS Sports. USWNT, USMNT Unions Agree to Equal Pay CBAs With USSF
14
Congress.gov. S.2333 – Equal Pay for Team USA Act
15
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Historic Win for Women’s Equality in Sports