Revealed: the $731,003 gender pay gap in US World Cup bonuses

[muriel_volestrangler]

That's the gap per player, not for the whole team.

The US women’s national team hasn’t even played in the quarter-final of the Women’s World Cup yet, but the players who helped the US qualify and are in France have each already earned $90,000 in bonuses, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.

Yet, if the US women were entitled to the same World Cup bonuses as the US men’s national team, their rewards would already be six times larger. The women would’ve already earned around $550,000 each, even with nearly half of the Women’s World Cup left to play.

That’s because the men earn more across the board in World Cup bonuses from US Soccer and, on top of that, they are also entitled to a set of bonuses the women don’t get, such as $4.5m to be shared among the players if the men advance to the knockout round of the World Cup.
...
These figures come from a Guardian analysis of World Cup bonuses offered by US Soccer in the collective bargaining agreements for the women’s and men’s national teams. The USWNT’s current CBA, signed in 2017, is not public and has been obtained by the Guardian, although some details were released in a book about the USWNT this year. The bonuses from the men’s CBA, which expired last year but remains in effect during negotiations, were released in legal filings.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2019/jun/28/revealed-the-731003-gender-pay-gap-in-us-world-cup-bonuses

Even if the women win the entire competition, they'll end up with a maximum of $260,000 each - compared to up to $680,000 for the men just by reaching the knockout stages. No wonder they're pissed off.

[BlueTsunami2018]

1. It's all about ratings and revenue.

I know people don’t want to hear it but the men’s World Cup generates thirty times more dollars. Women’s sports in general do not draw the revenue or interest that men’s sports do. And they’re paid accordingly. In fact, when comparing revenue taken in against prize money paid out, the women actually make more money by percentage.

You can look up the numbers.

[Laurelin]

2. Not sure that's true

I read that the women generate more revenue than the men. I know i should provide links but I'm moving in 17 days and shouldn't be here at all...

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Err, no: "US women's soccer games now generate more revenue than men's"

U.S. women’s soccer games have generated more revenue than U.S. men’s games over the past three years.

That’s according to audited financial statements from the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) obtained by The Wall Street Journal. In 2016, women’s games generated $1.9 million more in revenue than men’s games. From 2016 to 2018, women’s games generated approximately $50.8 million in revenue, compared with $49.9 million for men’s games.

The Journal report notes that the “ability of the women’s team to generate gate revenues that equals or exceeds the men’s team is an important battleground,” and central to an ongoing lawsuit filed against the USSF by 28 members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team in March.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/us-womens-soccer-games-now-generate-more-revenue-than-mens.html

The most-watched soccer match in American history, men’s or women’s, is still the 2015 World Cup final.

https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-world-cup-ratings-off-to-roaring-start-up-11-percent-over-2015-160055544.html

[2naSalit]

4. +1

[BlueTsunami2018]

5. I'm talking about World Cup revenue.

The men’s tournament takes in thirty times what the women’s tournament does. That’s what they’re getting paid under, FIFA.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Err, no. They are not paid by FIFA.

That's why their lawsuit is against the US Soccer Federation, who set their international contracts.

Some of the women appearing at the World Cup from other countries are amateurs.

"I came back in 2017 and when I came home, everybody had changed," recalled Carlos Borrello, reinstated as head coach after being sacked when the team disbanded.
...
The women were supposed to be paid around £7 for training expenses while on international duty, but the payments didn't arrive on time. And on one occasion, they travelled to a game through the early hours - from 04:00 to 09:00 - and slept on the bus because they were not given accommodation.
...
Only four months ago, after Borrello's side secured qualification for the World Cup via the play-offs, the AFA agreed to hand out professional contracts for the first time; top-flight clubs must have at least eight players on pro deals which mirror those of the men's teams.

The association offers around £2,300 per month to help finance the contracts.

Argentina's team in France is now made up of a combination of amateurs and professionals but as a collective they have become the public faces of a wider cultural shift.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48631554

That's how international team sport works; the athletes are paid by their national institutions.

[BlueTsunami2018]

7. I stand corrected on that point.

How is the World Cup money distributed to the different national teams? FIFA gets it first don’t they? The advertising revenues? And then they pay the different national organizations their share?

Hell, I might as well ask you since the sources I’m reading seem to have it wrong.