U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Receive Equal Pay!

The U.S. Women’s Soccer team will now receive the same pay as their male counterparts.

On Wednesday, “Today” reported that U.S. Soccer — along with the unions for the men’s and women’s national teams — has announced it has reached a new deal in which every man and woman who plays will receive equal pay.

Additionally, the teams will divide money earned from the World Cup prize, commercially, and at events.

“I am feeling extreme pride. And to be able to say finally, equal pay for equal work feels very, very good,” Becky Sauerbrunn of U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) said in a statement, adding, “It’s tough to get so, so excited about something that we really should have had all along.”

“It’s equalization of World Cup prize money, identical financial terms, including identical game payments, identical revenue sharing for both teams, so identical in every aspect on that front,” U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone added.

This historic announcement comes less than three months after the women’s team reached a settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation.

In a joint statement released at the time, the two organizations confirmed that they’d reached an agreement in a class action gender discrimination lawsuit. Previously, the lawsuit was filed by multiple stars of the World Cup–winning team in 2019.

Under the agreement, U.S. Soccer agreed to pay $22 million to players of the women’s team, as well as $2 million to female players specifically for post-career goals and charitable efforts.

“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 statement from U.S. Soccer and the USWNT read, in part.

In a recent interview with People, retired soccer star Abby Wambach gave her two cents on USWNT’s legal victory over the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“It’s a huge deal because it’s also not just a statement for this team and soccer,” Wambach said. “This is a statement for women everywhere.”

Noting that women in any industry can benefit from this verdict, she added, “Another woman looking at an article, or hearing or reading this can think to themselves, ‘Wait, am I getting paid the same as my male counterparts? How should I figure that out?’”

“I’m so happy for them,” Wambach continued. “I feel 5% jealous that I wasn’t on the team when this equal pay settlement happened. But the truth is, things happen when they’re meant to happen.”

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