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US Women’s football team calls for pay equality

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The U.S. Women’s National Team’s campaign for pay equity has ignited a federal legal battle over institutionalized discrimination.

Following a dominant run to their second consecutive title at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the USWNT has intensified its public and legal pressure on the U.S. Soccer Federation. The dispute, which centers on compensation, medical support, and travel conditions, has mobilized high-profile stars and drawn significant political scrutiny.

• On March 8, 2019, 28 members of the USWNT—including Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Carli Lloyd—filed a federal gender discrimination lawsuit against the USSF.
• The USWNT contends that pay disparities are stark, noting they received $2 million for their 2015 World Cup victory, while the men’s team earned $9 million for reaching only the Round of 16 in 2014.
• As of August 6, 2019, both parties have agreed to enter formal mediation to resolve the dispute outside of court.

The Legal and Financial Conflict

The class-action lawsuit, filed on International Women’s Day, alleges institutionalized gender discrimination within the soccer federation. The plaintiffs argue that the governing body provides inferior resources, including unequal access to charter flights and lower-quality playing surfaces, compared to their male counterparts. While the USSF has attempted to frame the fiscal landscape through the lens of total historical earnings, the players maintain that this accounting is fundamentally flawed.

In late July 2019, USSF President Carlos Cordeiro issued an open letter defending the federation’s pay practices, claiming the USWNT had been paid more in total than the USMNT over the previous decade. The players’ representatives immediately disputed these figures as misleading, arguing they exclude the massive revenue and performance gaps that define the two teams’ separate compensation structures. Women on the squad earn guaranteed base salaries, whereas the men’s pay is heavily reliant on performance-based bonuses tied to match results.

The accounting is misleading, as the teams operate under fundamentally different labor structures; women receive base salaries with smaller bonuses, whereas the men’s compensation is heavily reliant on larger, game-contingent bonuses.

Public Pressure and Legislative Action

The momentum of the USWNT’s performance in France created a powerful stage for their activism. During the trophy presentation in Lyon, a crowd of nearly 60,000 spectators famously chanted “Equal Pay!” as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stood on the field. This sentiment followed the team home to the United States, where similar chants greeted USSF officials during a ticker-tape parade in New York City on July 10.

The movement has also garnered attention in the federal government. In July, Senator Joe Manchin introduced legislation aimed at withholding funding for the 2026 World Cup until the U.S. Soccer Federation achieves pay parity between the men’s and women’s national teams. The legislative threat adds another layer of pressure as the federation manages the fallout from both the courtroom and the political arena.

The Path to Mediation

With both sides now committed to formal mediation, the central sticking point remains the structure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that players like Megan Rapinoe and her teammates intend to overhaul. The legal teams are expected to exchange discovery materials and formalize their positions in the coming weeks.

Mediation will force the federation to justify the vast difference between the $2 million payout for the 2015 Women’s World Cup title and the $9 million earned by the men for a 2014 Round of 16 exit, a gap the plaintiffs claim is indefensible regardless of the complex CBA language.