USWNT to Finally Get Equal Pay With Men’s Team in World First for Soccer

The stars of America’s world-beating women’s soccer team are finally going to get paid exactly the same as the U.S. men’s team after an historic agreement that sets a new standard for the sport. The deal will mean equal World Cup prize money, equal appearance fees, and equal revenue-sharing, “so identical in every respect,” said Cindy Parlow, president of U.S. Soccer. The USWNT have won FIFA women’s World Cup four times since its foundation in 1991, while lagging behind the far less successful U.S. men in pay and bonuses. NBC News said the new collective-bargaining agreement came after stars including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan won a $24 million settlement from U.S. Soccer in February after an unequal-pay lawsuit. “For us as players, I’m just so proud of the way we stuck together, and really just kind of put our foot down,” Rapinoe told the network. “This is really a huge win for us.”