U.S. Soccer settles equal pay suit with players

The $22 million agreement ends a six-year class-action lawsuit brought by members of the U.S. women’s national team. The U.S. Soccer Federation committed to an equal pay rate for the men’s and women’s national teams, pending approval of a new collective bargaining agreement. U.S. Soccer will also establish a $2 million fund for players in post-soccer careers and undertake charitable efforts to expand women’s involvement in the sport. The settlement is roughly one-third of what the 28 plaintiffs sought in damages.

What was the problem? Five players led by Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, members of the 2019 U.S. team that won the World Cup, complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016 that the soccer federation underpaid them and did not provide adequate working conditions for women. In 2019, Morgan, Rapinoe, and 26 more women from the national team sued for damages under the Equal Pay Act and gender discrimination under the Civil Rights Act. The U.S. women’s national team has won four World Cups since it started in 1985, while the men’s team has not reached a semifinal since 1930.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Kyle Ziemnick’s report in Muse about the women’s team at the 2019 World Cup.