U.S. Soccer and the Women’s National Team Reach $24 Million Settlement

On February 22, 2022, the U.S. Soccer Federation and players on the women’s national team reached a $24 million settlement, ending a six-year battle over equal pay and pay discrimination in the sport.  U.S. Soccer has agreed to pay $22 million to the players as back pay and $2 million to “benefit U.S. national women’s team players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer,” the parties stated.  

Perhaps even more salient than the $24 million payment is U.S. Soccer agreeing to provide equal pay to all members of the men’s and women’s national teams going forward, including for participation in all friendly matches and tournaments such as the World Cup.  The settlement is contingent on approval by the California District Court and the parties ratifying a new collective bargaining agreement.  Once complete, the women’s team players agreed to drop all remaining claims in the lawsuit. 
“We are pleased to announce that, contingent on the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement, we will have resolved our longstanding dispute over equal pay and proudly stand together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer,” the parties said in a joint statement. “Getting to this day has not been easy.”
In 2016, five of the women’s national team’s star players filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming they earned as little as 40 percent of what members on the men’s national team were paid, despite the women’s team having won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019 and the Olympic gold medal in 2018.  The stars—Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, and Becky Sauerbrum—claimed they were paid less in appearance fees, bonuses, and even meal stipends while attending training camps. 

The settlement came at an unexpected time considering a California federal judge ruled in favor of U.S. Soccer in May 2020, finding the women’s team players actually made more money than the men’s team due to their victories in the World Cup and the Olympics.  The players appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit arguing, among other things, that the lower court failed to consider that the women’s team players had to outperform the men to earn more compensation.  The Ninth Circuit was to hear the case on March 7, 2022. 
In a telephone interview, Morgan described the settlement as “a monumental win for us, and for women.”  Further stating, “what we set out to do was to have acknowledgment of discrimination from U.S. Soccer, and we received that through back pay in the settlement. We set out to have fair and equal treatment in working conditions, and we got that through the working conditions settlement. And we set out to have equal pay moving forward for us and the men’s team through U.S. Soccer, and we achieved that.”
Individuals who believe their employer has subjected them to unequal pay practices or gender discrimination should seek legal counsel to analyze their potential claims.