US Men's and Women's Soccer Teams to Split World Cup Winnings

The US men's national soccer team (USMNT) will split its $16 million World Cup winnings with the US women's national soccer team (USWNT), as per a 2022 collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Some right-leaning coverage differed in the credibility they lended the gender pay gap.

The Details: According to ESPN (Lean Left bias), the prize money will be split evenly between the 26 men on the US roster and the 26 women who make next year's US roster for the 2027 Women's World Cup, should the US qualify. After the US Soccer Federation receives its 20% portion of the World Cup winnings, the remaining 80% split equates to roughly $246,153.85 per player on top of the $10,000 each men's and women's players receive per World Cup match. The winnings from the Women's World Cup in 2027 will also be split evenly between the US men's and women's teams. Until then, the money for the women's team will be placed in an interest-bearing account where the interest collected will be split evenly, according to the CBA.

For Context: The CBA was signed in 2022 after nearly six years of the women's national team fighting and suing US Soccer for equal pay. ESPN reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino has previously stated his intent to equal men's and women's prize money by the 2027 World Cup. The New York Post (Right) reported the USWNT has won four World Cups – including back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2019 –, while the men have not advanced past the round of 16 since 2002.

USWNT Impact: Fortune (Center) described the USWNT's ongoing fight over equal pay and the $24 million lawsuit settled in 2022. It laid out the women's teams' stats compared to the men's, including that the USWNT "spent six years ranked as FIFA's No. 1. Meanwhile, the men had failed to even qualify for the 2017 World Cup." The outlet acknowledged dissenting opinions to the CBA, writing, "Equal pay isn't quite as popular a cause as it was in 2022, and the anti-DEI brigades have come out in force." However, it concluded that "women have been crucial" in growing soccer in the US, and the agreement "compensated the women for their contributions to the growth of the overall game."

'Forced' to Share: The Daily Wire (Right) described the split as "Adding insult to injury" after the USMNT team's 4-1 loss to Belgium. It wrote that Team USA was "forced" to share the money with the women's team, seeming to imply that the USWNT wasn't part of "Team USA." The Wire said the agreement came after "years of complaints" and "off-the-field antics" from the women's team, which it alleged caused less revenue and viewership overtime. The Daily Wire didn't mention the money from the Women's World Cup tournament would be split between teams.

A 'Clear' Pay Gap: Conversely, the New York Post framed its coverage solely around the ongoing fight for equal pay by the women's team. It wrote, "That gap was clear in the previous cycle. The USMNT earned $13 million for reaching the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. The USWNT earned just $1.87 million for reaching the same stage at the 2023 Women's World Cup. Now, the same system is paying out." 

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