USWNT World Cup Equal Pay Settlement: $24M, CBAs, and Prize Pooling

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and the U.S. Soccer Federation resolved their equal pay lawsuit in February 2022 with a $24 million agreement, and the USWNT equal pay settlement did two things at once: it delivered back pay to current and former players, and it required U.S. Soccer to pay the women’s and men’s national teams at identical rates going forward, including a shared split of World Cup prize money. It was the first time a major American sports federation formally committed to equal compensation regardless of gender.

What the $24 Million Covered

The settlement was split into two pots. A $22 million lump sum went directly to the players, distributed on a plan proposed by the USWNT and approved by the court. A separate $2 million fund was set aside for players’ post-career goals and charitable work in women’s and girls’ soccer, with individual players eligible to apply for up to $50,000.1ESPN. USWNT, US Soccer Federation Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit

The money was only half of the deal. The settlement was contingent on U.S. Soccer and both players’ unions ratifying new collective bargaining agreements that equalized pay going forward across friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup.2NBC News. US Soccer, Women’s Soccer Stars Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit Team captain Megan Rapinoe called the agreement “a huge win in ensuring that we not only right the wrongs of the past, but set the next generation up for something we only dreamed of.”3World Economic Forum. What the US Soccer Equal Pay Case Means for Sports

The Equal Pay CBAs That Followed

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 signed new collective bargaining agreements running through 2028 that put both teams on identical economic terms.4U.S. Soccer. USSF, Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic Collective Bargaining Agreements No other national soccer federation had done anything comparable.

The core provisions:

Parity came with a real tradeoff for the women. USWNT players gave up guaranteed salaries and lost the arrangement under which U.S. Soccer paid their NWSL club salaries. The women’s team moved to the same pay-to-play model as the men’s, where players earn only when called into camp and selected.4U.S. Soccer. USSF, Women’s and Men’s National Team Unions Agree to Historic Collective Bargaining Agreements

How World Cup Prize Money Pooling Works

The pooling arrangement is the piece with the biggest dollar consequences, because FIFA pays the men’s and women’s tournaments very differently. At the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar, the U.S. men earned $13 million from FIFA for reaching the round of 16. FIFA’s total prize pool for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was $150 million, against $440 million for the men’s tournament the year before.8ESPN. Equal Pay Explainer: USWNT Prize Money at Women’s World Cup

Under the CBA formula, U.S. Soccer took a 10% cut from each team’s World Cup earnings and combined the remaining 90% into a single fund split equally. Because the men’s prize was larger, the arrangement effectively moved money from the men’s side to the women’s. ESPN calculated that even a USWNT group-stage exit in 2023 would have produced more than $6 million for the team through pooling, more than the $4.3 million FIFA awarded to the tournament champion outright.8ESPN. Equal Pay Explainer: USWNT Prize Money at Women’s World Cup The women’s share is also divided among fewer players — 23 roster spots, against 71 men who participated across qualifying and the tournament — so per-player payouts on the women’s side ran higher.5The New York Times. Women’s World Cup Prize Money

The gap is set to grow. FIFA announced a record $655 million prize pool for the 2026 Men’s World Cup, nearly six times the $110 million allocated for the 2023 women’s tournament. FIFA has not yet announced the pool for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the federation receives “between 10 and 100 times inferior offers” for the Women’s World Cup from broadcasters and sponsors. The pooling arrangement stays in effect through 2028, and U.S. Soccer remains the only federation in the world that splits FIFA prize money equally between its teams.6USA Today. FIFA 2026 World Cup Prize Money Record USWNT

How the Case Got to a Settlement

The dispute started in March 2016, when five players — Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Becky Sauerbrunn — filed a wage discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against U.S. Soccer.9NPR. Members of U.S. Women’s National Team File Federal Equal Pay Complaint10FindLaw. Alex Morgan et al. v. United States Soccer Federation, Inc.11EEOC. Morgan v. USSF Amicus Brief

The case nearly ended in May 2020. Judge R. Gary Klausner granted summary judgment to U.S. Soccer on the pay claims, finding the women’s team had actually earned more than the men’s on both a cumulative and per-game average basis in the period at issue. The court’s reasoning turned on the structural differences between the two CBAs: the women had guaranteed salaries, more contracted roster spots, and severance; the men had none of that, but higher per-game bonuses under a pure pay-to-play deal. Klausner wrote that the players “cannot now retroactively deem their CBA worse than the MNT CBA by reference to what they would have made had they been paid under the MNT’s pay-to-play structure when they themselves rejected such a structure.”12NPR. Federal Judge Dismisses U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s Equal Pay Claim

The working-conditions claims survived and were settled separately in December 2020.13NPR. Women Soccer Contracts Equal Pay Settlement USWNT The players appealed the pay ruling to the Ninth Circuit in July 2021, with the EEOC filing an amicus brief supporting them.11EEOC. Morgan v. USSF Amicus Brief Before the appeals court ruled, the parties reached the $24 million settlement announced on February 22, 2022.1ESPN. USWNT, US Soccer Federation Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit

Hope Solo’s Objection and Final Approval

Not every plaintiff agreed with the deal. Former goalkeeper Hope Solo filed a formal objection on October 11, 2022, arguing that the allocation plan was too vague and “silent as to either the dollar amount of the expert’s damages calculations, or the pro rata share of the total damages sought for each individual class member.”14Yahoo Sports. Hope Solo Contests Payout Plans She also challenged the proposed attorneys’ fees of roughly $7.9 million, about 36% of the $22 million player fund, pointing to Ninth Circuit precedent suggesting 25% as a reasonable benchmark, and asked the judge to reject the deal.15Courthouse News. Hope Solo: Soccer Settlement Neither Fair Nor Adequate

On December 12, 2022, Judge Klausner granted final approval of the settlement over Solo’s objection to the deal itself, while taking the attorneys’ fee question under submission and requesting additional briefing.16Bloomberg Law. US Women’s Soccer Pay Bias Pact Gets Nod, Lawyer Fees Unresolved

Ripple Effects

Under pressure partly generated by the USWNT case, FIFA tripled Women’s World Cup prize money to $150 million for 2023 from $50 million in earlier cycles, and introduced a policy directing prize money to players rather than through their federations. Australia’s Matildas reached an equal-revenue-share deal with Football Federation Australia in 2019. Spain reached an equitable-pay agreement in 2022 that matched a percentage of the men’s team bonuses. Canada reached an interim pay agreement, though disputes over working conditions and benefits have continued.17Council on Foreign Relations. How Women’s National Soccer Teams Are Advocating Equality Progress elsewhere has been uneven, with players in countries from Canada to Nigeria using strikes, protests, and sit-ins to secure pay and basic training and travel resources.

In American sports outside soccer, investment in women’s professional leagues accelerated in the same period. The WNBA raised $75 million through equity sales, the Premier Hockey Federation attracted a $25 million investment commitment focused on salaries, and the U.S. Golf Association raised the Women’s Open prize money to $10 million with a goal of $12 million within five years.3World Economic Forum. What the US Soccer Equal Pay Case Means for Sports