USWNT & U.S. Soccer Federation settle equal pay lawsuit of $24 million

On Tuesday, players from the United State’s women’s national team settled their action for equal pay against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for a lucrative amount of $24 million. In the settlement it stated the players will receive $22 million and this amount will be distributed in favor of how the USWNT decides based on approval by the District Court, according to ESPN soccer correspondent Jeff Carlisle https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-states-usaw/story/4599482/uswntus-soccer-federation-settle-equal-pay-lawsuit-for-$24-million .

The extra $2 million will be to help benefit the USWNT players after their careers are over and for future charitable efforts related to women’s and girls' soccer that will allow each individual player to receive up to $50,000 in funds. The US Soccer Federation has also stated they are committed to ensuring equal pay going forward for both the women’s and men’s national teams in tournaments, regular games, and World Cups.

U.S. women international midfielder Megan Rapinoe stated to ESPN "There's no real justice in this other than this never happening again, with the settlement of the working conditions and this settlement which is contingent upon a CBA that will have equal pay going forward, there's no other way to look at it than just a monumental win for women's sports and women's soccer, in particular."

The women’s players union also credited Rapiooe’s comments by calling the settlement "an important step in righting the many wrongs of the past."

For those who didn’t know, the men’s and women’s players are separated by different unions and have different pay structures in their CBA. The men use a pay-to-play model in which they were compensated only if they were called into a national team camp and earn additional money if they played in actual games.

On the other side, the women's players and union utilize a hybrid system which currently allows 16 players on a roster that are signed to full-time contracts with the USSF on a salary of $100,000 per year. The players get paid whether or not they are called up for games, training camp, or even injured.

Let me give you an example of how unfair the pay was: a male player could make over $400,000 in winning the World Cup, while if a women’s player won the World Cup, they would make just $110,000.

This is a big announcement and settlement from the US Soccer Federation and USWNT, and let's hope this is a sign for a brighter future for both parties.