(Headline USA) The U.S. Soccer Federation caved this week and agreed to pay U.S. women’s soccer players the same salaries as U.S. men’s players.
The collective bargaining agreement will run through 2028 and guarantees equal prize money, benefits and revenue between the two teams. It marks the end of a years-long controversy that began when the U.S. Women’s Soccer team claimed it was being treated unequally since they were paid less than their male counterparts.
The U.S. Soccer Federation had defended the different pay standards as necessary since the men’s team brings in more viewers and advertisers. The organization also pointed out that female players rejected a pay-to-play structure like the men’s agreement in order to get bigger base salaries and benefits.
But it seems the organization finally folded.
“This is a truly historic moment,” U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said in a news release.
“These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world,”
“U.S. Soccer and the USWNT and USMNT players have reset their relationship with these new agreements and are leading us forward to an incredibly exciting new phase of mutual growth and collaboration as we continue our mission to become the preeminent sport in the United States,” she added.
U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who was one of the most outspoken activists pushing for “equal pay,” also praised the agreement and said she is “incredibly proud.”
. @beckysauerbrunn ALWAYS says it best. Thank you to so many who have come before and who are here now. ❤️ Incredibly proud today. https://t.co/Xt7vsLXO8c
— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) May 18, 2022
