The U.S. Soccer Federation has reached milestone agreements to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally. That makes the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money. The federation has announced separate collective bargaining agreements through 2028 with the unions for both national teams. The move ends years of often acrimonious negotiations. One of the main sticking points was World Cup prize money. The unions agreed to pool FIFA’s payments for the men’s World Cup later this year and next year’s Women’s World Cup. It will also pool the 2026 and 2027 tournaments.
“We saw it as an opportunity, an opportunity to be leaders in this front and join in with the women’s side and U.S. Soccer. So we’re just excited that this is how we were able to get the deal done," said Walker Zimmerman, a defender who is part of the U.S. National Team Players Association leadership group.
For the current World Cup cycles, the USSF will pool the FIFA funds, taking 10% off the top and then splitting the rest equally among 46 players — 23 players on the roster of each team. For the 2026-27 cycle, the USSF cut increases to 20% before the split. The women gave up guaranteed base salaries which had been part of their CBA since 2005. Some players had been guaranteed annual salaries of $100,000.
The women and men also will receive a portion of commercial revenue from tickets for matches controlled by the USSF, with bonuses for sellouts, and each team will get a portion of broadcast, partner and sponsor revenue. Women ended six years of litigation over equal pay in February in a deal calling for the USSF to pay $24 million, a deal contingent on reaching new collective bargaining agreements.
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