U.S. Women's National Team will make $5.85 million after men's win over Iran – nearly the same amount for winning last two World Cups
The U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) will make nearly the same amount of money from the men's team reaching the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup than from winning the last two Women's World Cups.
The U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) defeated Iran 1-0 in their final group stage match on Tuesday, setting them up in the round of 16 against the Netherlands on Saturday. The win kept the men's team alive, and due to a new collective bargaining agreement, the women's team will also benefit from the victory.
FIFA, international soccer's governing body, outlined the prize money teams would receive in the World Cup in Qatar and those that finished 9th through 16th will get $13 million each. According to the CBA, the prize money will be divided in two parts — 90% will be split equally between the men's and women's teams while 10% will go to the U.S. Soccer Federation.
This means the USWNT could take in at least $5.85 million from the winnings because the men's team will finish among the top 16. The women's team made $6 million from their back-to-back World Cup victories — $4 million in 2019 and $2 million in 2015.
If the USMNT beats the Netherlands, both they and the women's team will get $7.65 million each.
In September, the teams formally signed the CBA with U.S. Soccer that set a standard for equal pay. U.S. Soccer said both teams will get the same compensation for all competitions, including the World Cup, and the same commercial revenue sharing mechanism.
The agreement was announced in May, more than three years after the USWNT filed a $66 million lawsuit against U.S. Soccer over alleged "institutionalized gender discrimination," including unequal pay and working conditions compared to the men's team.