Fans React to US Soccer's Statement on Equal Pay

Brian Jones

07/31/2019 09:43 am EDT

The Women's World Cup is over, but the U.S. Women's National Team remains a hot topic. It's not for the right reason, though, as the United States Soccer Federation recently said the women's team made more money than the Men's team from 2010 to 2018.

In a letter written by U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro, the women were paid $34.1 million in salary and game bonuses during the eight-year span while the men were paid $26.4 million. But the women's team were not buying what the USSF was selling.

"This is a sad attempt by USSF to quell the overwhelming tide of support the USWNT has received from everyone from fans to sponsors to the United States Congress," U.S. women's team spokesperson Molly Levinson said in a statement.

"The USSF fact sheet is not a "clarification. It is a ruse."

So what do the fans think about all this? Scroll down to find out.

The Letter

This is the letter U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro wrote which contains details of the money each team made over the last eight years. One of the key things he mentioned is the pay gap is different because of the compensation packages each team took with U.S. Soccer.

That might be true, but the women's team is having a hard time believing it.

Play More Games

This fan believes the USWNT would get more money if the team would play more games. He said "The USWNT have to play more games just to have an equal net pay earning vs the men. The women's league isn't equally funded or marketed vs. the MLS or men's national team games. What would the payout for women be if they were equally as bad like the men?"

Women's soccer isn't marketed the same way the men are. So that's something that needs to change because the women have been clearly more successful in the last couple of decades.

Interesting Question

This fan is trying to understand one thing about the USWNT. He said, "If the women didn't like this pay structure, why did they agree to it? Their representatives negotiated this deal. The women stated they agreed to this deal because it gave them the best chance to make money. Now they want to play a victim/injustice card?"

At the time, the USWNT may not have known what the men were getting paid. And now that they have had more success since the deal was made, they feel like it's time to get a raise.

Comparing Other Countries

One of the reasons the USWNT has more success than other women's team over the world is the resources they put in year after year. This fan said, "The women do not generate the same revenue as the men. Yes, the USWNT is great and the men struggle but that's only because most of the world does not put resources into their women's programs. We are light years ahead of most countries in developmental leagues."

The more the USWNT continues to win, the more revenue they will bring in. But each player wants more money in her pocket.

Calling Out ESPN

When the news was reported about the pay comparison, this fan showed how much ESPN cared about it. As it's shown above, there's wasn't one woman on the front page.

In ESPN's defense, baseball and international soccer is popular right now. And with football right around the corner, that will be a draw as well. It's very unlikely ESPN did that on purpose.

Interesting Idea

This fan has an idea that probably won't work, but it's interesting. He said," Settle it on the field Pay-Per-View match where subscribers choose which team they want their proceeds to go to. Establishing who the bigger draw is. My money is on USWNT. If they win, even better."

That's opening up a big can of worms that nobody wants to dive into, especially if the men win.

Pointing Blame Elsewhere

It looks like the USSF is not taking responsibility for their action. This fan said, "Excuses for pay disparities continue. Not only does USSF refuse to equalize for USWNT, they continue to blame FIFA instead of using their power to pressure the organization towards parity."

If something isn't done soon, more and more fans could be siding with USWNT which would put more pressure on the USSF to make a move.

Disclosure: PopCulture. is owned by Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.