For years, the slogan has been ubiquitous: “One nation. One team. ”
Whether you’re watching a US national team match, one of their official social media pages, or shopping at the federation’s web store, you’re almost guaranteed to see it stuck everywhere. But this marketing campaign has never felt more appropriate than it does now.
On Wednesday, after a bitter lawsuit and a long, sometimes controversial negotiation process, the U.S. Football Federation and the U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Teams’ Unions announced that they had agreed to enter into separate collective agreements that pay equal pay. identical economic conditions for both teams.
“One hundred percent, he represents a nation, a team,” said USWNT striker Midge Pearce. The athlete during a conversation at Zoom with USMNT central defender Walker Zimmerman and US Football President Cindy Parlow Cown. “Now we are inextricably linked (with the men’s national team). When they note, we will applaud a little louder. We’ve done it before, but we’re excited about it – we want a double header. We are opening the door to a new look at what football is like in America. ”
Equal pay is, of course, the main and well-deserved headline on Wednesday’s news. The three parties agreed that the compensation agreed with the two new CBAs is not just equal pay, but equal pay at equal rates (instead of comparing the total compensation, regardless of the imbalance of matches played).
Both teams will now be at the level of:
- Equal pay for every game played, from friendly matches to world championships and other competitions
- Equal bonuses for the outcome of the game and participation in the World Cup
- Equal pay for each day in the camp
- Equal division of the prize fund of the World Cup, as the two teams unite and then share their common prizes from the tournaments in 2022 and 2023 and the competitions in 2026 and 2027.
- Equal sharing of a new revenue sharing program with US Soccer
- Equal percentage for sold tickets for games controlled by US Soccer
Equalization of the World Cup prize pool was the main obstacle that had to be removed in order to conclude these deals. In practice, it will work as follows: say that the men of the United States reached the quarterfinals in Qatar to win a prize of 13 million dollars from FIFA, and the women of the United States won the tournament in 2023 to win a potential prize of 7 million dollars from FIFA. The two teams would then share an equal 90 percent of the total $ 20 million, with the remaining 10 percent of their respective prize money going to the federation. That’s $ 9 million for each team to be split between the players. This number does not include the fee for participation in the World Cup list paid by the USSF to each player of the respective teams.
For the Men’s World Cup in 2026 and the Women’s World Cup in 2027, the two teams will share 80 percent of the combined prize money paid out by FIFA. The reduction in US Soccer’s total winnings will increase to 20 percent for these two tournaments.
For other competitions, the cash prizes will be distributed depending on whether there is the same tournament for both MNT and WNT. In the case of the Gold Cup and the W Gold Cup, for example, the prize money will be pooled and split equally between teams, with US Soccer retaining 30 percent of the total and each team receiving 35 percent of the total pool. For any other competition that has no equivalent (such as the Copa America), US Soccer will give 70 percent to the participating team.
The WNT and MNT collective agreements will apply for the same period, with retroactive effect from 1 January this year, until 31 December 2028.
“This is the first time we’ve sat down together and achieved something historic,” said Zimmerman, a member of the men’s union leadership group, the United States National Football Team (USNSTPA). “We are really excited to continue this schedule and work together. It makes a lot more sense when you’re united and you want to have – and have – equal conditions, it just makes sense to move forward on this (shared) timeline. “
Larger structural changes are on the part of women. Guaranteed contracts have already disappeared, although even without the new CBA, the number of guaranteed contracts has dropped to just 16. Some players will still be able to receive benefits, which include insurance, parental leave and short-term disability, through the federation in recognition of what the federation considers “extra work”.
In February, the president of the US Women’s National Team (USWNTPA), Becky Sauerbrunn, said the team had taken a different approach to previous CBA negotiations. ,
“We wanted different structures (from men), but that’s always because we never received an identical offer of compensation, so we had to fight for the best deal we could at the moment. Fortunately, due to the commitment to equal pay in the agreement between the federation and our players’ association and the men’s association – there will be things we are fighting for separately – but when it comes to pay, when it comes to working conditions, these things will be the same. “
With the compensation equalized, the WNT players were ready to move to the pay structure for men’s play, with their money now coming from play.
“The way this new CBA is structured, we’ve increased the amount of risk with your salary,” said Peirce, a member of the USWNTPA CBA committee. Raising NWSL’s salaries (and the new NWSL CBA, signed on April 29, which introduces free intermediation by 2023) will play a role in minimizing some of this risk for players who move forward – although not as financially stable as many as signed club contracts by male players.
“I’m really glad that people don’t sign for $ 16,000, as I did when I was still in college, and that people can make more money with NWSL salaries,” she said. “It’s a credit to NWSL, and I hope it just keeps growing with it.”
There are also smaller profits for WNT that will have a direct financial benefit. The federation has leveled how the ranking of opponents in FIFA affects the bonuses in the game, as there is already the same system of levels for both senior national teams. An equal number of players will now be listed in the game day lists (unless otherwise limited by competition) for MNT and WNT, which will increase most WNT lists from 18 players to 23. Combined, this means that WNT is not just you get better bonuses, but that more players will earn them.
Here is how these numbers will be presented for both WNT and MNT for friendly meetings, with the new equal level system:
Friendly matches against FIFA rank 1-25 *
Result Appearance Fee Total Game Bonus
I win
$ 8,000
$ 10,000
$ 18,000
I’m drawing
$ 8,000
$ 3,000
$ 11,000
Loss
$ 8,000
$ 0
$ 8,000
*The level includes all men’s friendly matches against Mexico and all women’s friendly matches against Canada, regardless of their respective FIFA rankings.
Friendly matches against FIFA rank 26+
Result Appearance Fee Total Game Bonus
I win
$ 8,000
$ 5,000
$ 15,000
I’m drawing
$ 8,000
$ 2,000
$ 10,000
Loss
$ 8,000
$ 0
$ 8,000
Game bonuses will be higher for World Cup qualifiers than other official competitions. Here are the breakdowns for participation fees and bonuses for these two other types of matches:
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Category Appearance Fees Game Bonus Total
I win
$ 10,000
$ 14,000
$ 24,000
I’m drawing
$ 10,000
$ 4,000
$ 14,000
Loss
$ 10,000
$ 0
$ 10,000
Official competitions for the World Cup outside FIFA
Category Appearance Fees Game Bonus Total
I win
$ 10,000
$ 12,000
$ 22,000
I’m drawing
$ 10,000
$ 4,000
$ 14,000
Loss
$ 10,000
$ 0
$ 10,000
There will be no performance bonuses for WNT or MNT World Cup matches, although players will receive a $ 10,000 entry fee for these matches.
The agreement on working conditions as part of the case for equal pay between WNT players and the federation, approved in April 2021, was also transferred to the collective labor agreement, with equal resources provided for places and services on the field, hotel accommodation, team staff and travel.
In addition, for the first time, US Soccer will share some of its revenue from broadcasting and sponsorship with the senior players of the national team. The share given to the men’s and women’s teams will be equal. The revenue-sharing program will begin once the USSF crosses the $ 55 million revenue threshold. If the federation raises between $ 55 million and $ 75 million a year, each team will receive 10 percent of the total. If US Soccer wins more than $ 75 million, both teams will receive 15 percent of the total. A source said the federation is well positioned to reach that threshold after the agreement it signed with Nike last November and the media rights agreement it reached with Turner Sports in March.
The parties also agreed to share ticket revenues from home games controlled by US Soccer. Players will receive a small portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold for these matches, which include home friendly matches, World Cup qualifiers and League of Nations competitions. From 2023 to 2026, US Soccer will spend $ 5.06 on each ticket sold; for the last two years of CBA terms, this will rise to $ 5.75. Players will also receive a bonus if the games are sold out – the federation will pay players 10% of the average ticket price for sales of matches they control.
As part of the new CBA, the federation will now provide care for the children of USMNT players during all training camps and match periods. The USSF has been providing this benefit to the USWNT for more than 25 years. The federation is also creating a 401 (k) plan for all players on both teams.
For men, the agreement ends nearly three and a half years …
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