NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Soccer Federation said it had offered identical contract proposals Tuesday to the players’ associations for the men’s and women’s national teams, and the governing body said it would refuse to agree to a deal in which World Cup prize money is not equalized.
The unions for the men and women are separate. Under federal labor law, they have no obligation to bargain jointly or to agree to similar terms.
The men’s contract expired in December 2018. The women’s agreement runs through this December.
“U.S. Soccer firmly believes that the best path forward for all involved, and for the future of the sport in the United States, is a single pay structure for both senior national teams,” the USSF said in a statement. “This proposal will ensure that USWNT and USMNT players remain among the highest-paid senior national team players in the world, while providing a revenue sharing structure that would allow all parties to begin anew and share collectively in the opportunity that combined investment in the future of U.S. Soccer will deliver over the course of a new CBA.”
(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
The men’s and women’s unions did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the women players suing the federation, declined to comment.
After the USSF asked the men’s union last week to voluntarily equalize World Cup bonus money paid to the federation by FIFA, former men’s national team players declined comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
Items currently in the women’s contract, such as pay for players in the National Women’s Soccer League and maternity and pregnancy leave and pay, would not necessarily be dropped from USSF proposals, the federation said.
(Getty Images)
Players led by Alex Morgan sued the USSF in March 2019, contending they have not been paid equitably under their collective bargaining agreement compared to what the men’s team receives under its agreement that expired in December 2018. The women asked for more than $64 million in damages plus $3 million in interest under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles threw out the pay claim in May 2020, ruling the women rejected a pay-to-play structure similar to the one in the men’s agreement and accepted greater base salaries and benefits than the men. He allowed their allegation of discriminatory working conditions to go to trial.
The women asked the 9th Circuit to overrule the trial court’s ruling and put their wage claim back on track. A three-judge panel is likely to hear oral arguments late this year or in early 2022.
FIFA awarded $400 million in prize money for the 32 teams at the 2018 men’s World Cup, including $38 million to champion France. It awarded $30 million for the 24 teams at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, including $4 million to the U.S. after the Americans won their second straight title.
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