The U.S. soccer team has been fighting for equal pay for years. The dispute was as much a legal saga as it was a cultural one. After the USWNT won the Women's World Cup in France, the crowd's chants in Lyon became "Equal pay!"
It is over now. On Tuesday, Cindy Parlow Cone presented a united front to announce that a settlement had been reached and the lawsuit was going to end. The conclusion of one of the most contentious battles between the U.S. Soccer and the USWNT is a moment for the history books.
Why does it feel like this lawsuit has been going on for years?
The lawsuit was filed four months before the Women's World Cup in France, which happened to fall on International Women's Day. The players alleged that the U.S. Soccer team was treated differently because of their gender.
The players did not initially want to file the lawsuit before they played in the biggest tournament. The first legal step to settle a discrimination complaint was taken when five USWNT players filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The claim was stuck in government bureaucracy during the changeover from the Obama to Trump administrations.
After sitting with the EEOC for more than two years, the players were granted the right to file a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer. They had to file a lawsuit before the World Cup.
The legal process took a long time because of that.
How much is the settlement?
The USWNT players will be paid a total of $24 million by U.S. Soccer. The USWNT players who are part of the class action lawsuit will get $22 million from the settlement. The district court will need to approve the proposal, and the players will make it. $2 million will go toward charitable efforts and each player can apply to receive up to $50,000 of it.
Did the USWNT win equal pay?
Although the dollar amount attached to the settlement has made headlines, the more important part of Tuesday's announcement is probably not the cash payouts.
An equal rate of pay for the women's and men's national teams will be provided by U.S. Soccer, according to the news release. The reason the USWNT sued in the first place will not be a problem going forward.
Megan Rapinoe, a USWNT forward, said that this will change the landscape of the women's game in the country forever.
Megan Rapinoe spoke about the settlement between the USWNT and the U.S. Soccer Federation.
In the current collective bargaining agreements for both the USWNT and the USMNT, U.S. Soccer offered bonuses for everything from winning friendly to making the World Cup roster. The pay gap between the men and women is explained in a full breakdown of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement by ESPN. From now on, that will change.
Did the U.S. Soccer say it couldn't pay World Cup bonuses?
In the past, the federation argued that giving the women the same bonuses as the men would bankrupt the organization. The U.S. men's and women's unions seem to be on board with finding a way to equalize the prize money for the World Cup and the Olympics.
In the last World Cup cycle, the winners of the men's and women's World Cup received $38 million, but only $4 million went to the USWNT. The U.S. Soccer team bonuses were based on the prize money from the World Cup, but sometimes the federation chose to award wins for the men and women differently.
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The men were offered as much as $36 million to win the World Cup, while the women were only offered $5 million. As part of the settlement, that will change. Both sides feel they are close to a settlement, but it is contingent on the approval of a new collective bargaining agreement for the USWNT. Both sides have said a deal could be done before March 31, when the current contract with the USWNT expires.
There is a lot of energy and positive vibes on both sides of the table. The final piece of the Collective Bargaining Agreement is deciding how the World Cup bonuses are equalized, and that has been the subject of much debate in negotiation sessions in which the men's union leader has also been participating.
How much of a win is this for the players?
It is easy to see why they are treating it as a massive win. Their lawsuit was thrown out by a judge in May 2020 because they said the women were paid more than the men. The women argued that they were paid more because they played more games and won more, but that their rate of pay was lower. We don't know if that appeal would have been successful.
The total $24 millionPayout pales in comparison to the amount of back pay calculated by the players in their lawsuit. According to sources, the U.S. Soccer was only offering $9 million before the judge dismissed the case.
There is a bigger context of what equal bonuses mean for the players. The USWNT has been fighting with U.S. Soccer for years, demanding better compensation and working conditions. This latest concession from U.S. Soccer is the latest in a long line of similar ones that have happened behind closed doors and out of public view.
Rapinoe said that the fight with the federation dates back prior to him playing and his generation playing. We always believed in ourselves.
The USWNT has a tradition of digging its heels in and getting what it wants.
Carli Lloyd talked about the USWNT's settlement with US Soccer over the Equal Pay lawsuit.
The settlement was influenced by the U.S. Soccer presidential election.
Cone doesn't feel any extra motivation to get this resolved with her election coming up next week and her opponent accusing her of not ending the lawsuit. The players filed a lawsuit whenCordeiro was the president of U.S. Soccer.
Cone said that he had been pushing for this since he became president. The players were pushing for this to be done before the hearing on March 7.
The USWNT players being together in camp for the SheBelieves Cup allowed them to get on the same page with the proposed settlement as well. The USWNT arranged for Rapinoe and Cone to speak to reporters before the deal was announced. They were on the same side and working together, with the reps running the show instead of U.S. Soccer.
Rapinoe credited Cone with getting the deal done.
Rapinoe said that the president of the U.S. Soccer, who was so instrumental in getting this deal over the line, is a former player.
Rapinoe doesn't speak for all of her teammates, but on Tuesday she was clear about where she stood, quipping off the cuff that Cordeiro wasn't getting my vote.
Will the settlement affect the election? The players seemed to make it clear who they supported by heaping credit on Cone for getting the deal done.
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