US Women’s National Team will get half of money won by USMNT at World Cup

The fruits of the new agreement between the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer teams is about to pay off. 

Under the equal-pay agreement signed this year, the teams will split the prize money for the World Cup. That means that both teams will get $6.5 million for the men’s team advancing to the Round of 16 and will continue to split the prize money down the middle. 

The terms, agreed to in May and formally signed in September, put both teams on the same payment model through 2028. 

The women’s team, which has won the last two World Cups, had long been advocating for equal pay, but without success. It took a collectively bargained agreement with a buy-in from both the men and the U.S. Soccer Federation to achieve it. 

Prior to that, the women’s team had sued U.S. Soccer for gender discrimination. The lawsuit was settled in 2019 for $24 million, contingent on the new agreement.