American football and players guarantee equal pay in new contracts

A negotiated settlement became the only way to equal pay in 2020, after a federal judge rejected the core claims of a group of top women players who had sued the association for gender discrimination. Cone, a former women’s national team player who was recently elevated to the role of U.S. football volunteer president, welcomed that decision with an olive branch at the time and pushed for renewed conciliation negotiations. But she increased the pressure on the men’s players to help bridge the gap last fall when she said US Soccer would not sign new contracts with both teams that did not equalize the World Cup prize money.

Walker Zimmerman, a defender on the men’s team and leader of its players’ association, said he and his teammates at the time had come to the realization that “there was no other way to get this done.” Persuading his teammates to ratify the agreements that were eventually reached “was not always the smoothest,” he admitted.

“Trying to express what you think should happen, what’s possible, what’s right – these conversations are difficult,” Zimmerman said. “But in the end, you have a group of players on both the men’s and women’s side who came together and got it done.”

Despite Wednesday’s spirit of relaxation, payments to American men and women will still not be exactly the same: Injuries, coaching decisions and even the number of games played by each team will continue to affect what individual players can earn. But for the first time, both the teams and the union will be able to agree that the wage rate will at least be the same.

“We still have two separate contracts,” Cone said, “but everything financially is exactly the same.”

For the most prominent American women players, the deal could soon provide an immediate paycheck by unlocking a $ 24 million settlement, mainly for post-payment, which they reached with US Soccer in February to settle the gender discrimination lawsuit. US Soccer had made this one-time payment conditional on the conclusion of new collective agreements formalizing equal pay between the teams.

With the new deals approved, US Soccer can now seek referee approval to start cutting checks.