According to paperwork filed this week in the U.S. women’s national team’s gender discrimination lawsuit, the American women are seeking more than $66 million in damages from the U.S. Soccer Federation.
The women are hoping to be awarded that amount without having to go to the trial which is set to begin in May as they have asked the judge in the case to issue a pre-trial summary judgment in their favor.
The U.S. Soccer Federation has made a similar request and also hopes Judge R. Gary Klausner will rule in its favor.
At the basis of the disagreement is the pay disparity between the members of the U.S. men’s team and the American women.
To put it in context, a member of the USMNT who was on the roster for all 16 qualifiers during the team’s failed bid to reach the 2018 World Cup earned $179,375.
During last year’s successful World Cup run, a member of the USWNT received only $52,500 for being on the roster for the five qualifiers. Members of the team also received $147,500 for their time at the World Cup, including a $37,500 roster bonus and $110,000 for winning the title in France.
Had the men actually made the World Cup in 2018, they would have been compensated for it.
“Women’s national team players are paid differently because they specifically asked for and negotiated a completely different contract than the men’s national team, despite being offered, and rejecting, a similar pay-to-play agreement during the past negotiations,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement. “Their preference was a contract that provides significant additional benefits that the men’s national team does not have, including guaranteed annual salaries, medical and dental insurance, paid child-care assistance, paid pregnancy and parental leave, severance benefits, salary continuation during periods of injury, access to a retirement plan, multiple bonuses and more.”
There is no specific timeline for Klausner to decide what to do with each side’s argument.
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