Wednesday September 27, 2023
The Best Employers in Sports Survey is Now Open!

Carli Lloyd Takes on New Role in the Fight for Pay Equity

  • USWNT legend takes the fight from the playing field to her role as Fox analyst during Women's World Cup.
  • After 17 years on the national team, she says moving to the "dark side" is "bittersweet" on the eve of the tournament.
Former USWNT player Carli Lloyd sitting on stage and answering questions
Adam Monacelli/USA TODAY NETWORK
Front Office Sports Today

Writer’s Strike End a Boon for Sports Networks, Agencies

We delve into the potential long-term impact of the five-month strike.
Listen Now
September 26, 2023 | Podcast
Linkedin
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

In 2016, USWNT legend and two-time World Cup champion Carli Lloyd was one of five national team players to file a wage-discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as the world’s most-dominant soccer team fought to be paid equally with their male compatriots. 

Then in 2022, U.S. Soccer agreed to a landmark deal to give equal payouts to the men’s and women’s national teams. But as Lloyd—the USWNT’s third all-time leading goal scorer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time FIFA Player of the Year—prepares to be part of Fox’s FIFA Women’s World Cup broadcast team, she’s pleading for sponsors to step up as the push for equal pay turns global with world soccer’s governing body. 

“Sponsors. I mean, it’s sponsors and revenue, that’s how businesses work,” Lloyd, a New Jersey native, told Front Office Sports. “The more sponsors you have on board, the more money you make and the more that can go out for prize money. I don’t know timelines and all that; I just know that it needs to keep getting better.”

Lloyd, who last played for the NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2021, made her studio analyst debut for Fox Sports in April 2022 before joining the network’s coverage in Qatar for the men’s World Cup. She also competed on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, a military-training-inspired celebrity reality TV series that debuted earlier this year on Fox. But a tough test facing women’s soccer is the $330 million pay gap between World Cup prize pools.

FIFA’s $110 million total prize pool for this summer’s WWC in New Zealand and Australia represents a quarter of the $440 million awarded to men’s federations at the 2022 World Cup. 

Sponsorship hasn’t been an issue for Fox in the U.S. The network said in June, a full month before the tournament, that it sold out 90% of its Women’s World Cup ad sales. Fox’s ad revenue is up 50% over the 2019 Women’s World Cup, which Lloyd and the USWNT won for their second-straight World Cup victory. 

“I would say the automotive category, tech, insurance, financial—all the blue chips are really supporting this World Cup,” Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks told FOS. “Three of our cornerstone ones that you’ll see a lot, and they’ve been with us for previous World Cups—big supporters of women’s soccer—are Volkswagen, Google, and Verizon.”

But Fox’s lucrative U.S. coverage is only a small part of FIFA’s global World Cup broadcast partners. In May, FIFA threatened to blackout Women’s World Cup broadcasts in Europe if broadcasters did not up their rights bids for the tournament, some of which were initially as low as 1% to 2% of bids for the men’s World Cup. FIFA president Gianni Infantino called the offers a “slap in the face” given the popularity of the women’s game and pay equity plans. 

FIFA eventually reached media agreements to broadcast the upcoming WWC in Europe’s “Big 5” markets— France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K—but some reported payments are still just 6% of rights paid for the men’s tournament. 

FIFA’s new compensation structure guarantees each Women’s World Cup player at least $30,000, and winning team members will receive $270,000 each as FIFA, for the first time, will distribute some prize money directly to players instead of federations. FIFA plans to reach full pay equity by the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups. 

“Obviously, FIFA rolled out with money for each player—different stages where you get to, what each player will receive—I thought that was a great step, but still room for growth,” Lloyd said. “Hopefully, we don’t have to keep talking about the same things over and over again. But at least there is some progress.”

Lloyd joked that she’s now joined the “dark side” in the broadcast booth for Fox following her retirement from soccer in 2021 after 17 years with the USWNT. It’s a “bittersweet” moment for her not to be on the pitch for the biggest Women’s World Cup yet, both in terms of its expanded 32-team format and number of games aired on Fox.

“Every four years, they just keep getting bigger and better,” Lloyd said. “It’s a little bittersweet to be playing in a World Cup now in 2023 and see how big it is, and the game has grown so much; it’s what every player deserves. The support, the investment needs to continue, but this is going to be the best and the biggest, in my opinion.”

Linkedin
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL's Swift Mania Starting To Show Impact Through Merch Sales, Viewership

Taylor Swift stole the NFL's spotlight by attending Sunday's Chiefs game.

Fox Opts For College Sports Over WWE Post-UFC Merger

Fox has plenty of college sports to lean on in WWE's absence.
Deion Sanders with The Rock on ESPN's "College GameDay."

Deion Sanders Generated $45M In Earned Media For Colorado

From Sept.1-22, Sanders generated $45.7M for the public university.
Sponsored

NHL’s Chris Foster on Amplifying Content Distribution With Automation

Learn how the NHL is using WSC Sports to increase fan engagement.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

Taylor Swift Takes NFL to New Heights (w/ Andrew Brandt)

0:00
0:00

Featured Today

First Take vs. FS1

Sharpe: 'First Take' Would Still Beat 'Undisputed' Without Stephen A.

Even if Smith leaves, Sharpe said he will still beat Skip Bayless in the ratings.
Rob-Manfred-MLB
September 25, 2023

Oakland-MLB Relationship Devolves Into Next-Level Toxicity

Commissioner, mayor have very different accounts of July meeting
Jacksonville Jaguars Team President Mark Lamping addressed community members at Strings Sports Brewery on Main Street for the first of 14 planned town hall sessions to present the team's plans for the new "stadium of the future" complex and address the public concerns.
September 25, 2023

Jacksonville Jaguars President Walks Back Stadium ‘Threat’

"Viewing those comments as a threat to leave Jacksonville isn't correct."
Chatri Sityodtong
September 25, 2023

ONE Championship's Quest To Challenge Rival UFC Through U.S. Expansion

Leveraging its Amazon deal, ONE Championship seeks to expand in U.S.

Careers

Powered By

Careers in Sports

Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world.
Chicago Cubs
Chicago
Fanatics
New York
Tri Star Sports and Entertainment Group, Inc.
USA - Multiple Locations
Coach Prime bringing improved tv ratings.

Coach Prime's Colorado Changing College Football Viewing Habits

The excitement around Deion Sanders and Colorado is helping drive record September TV ratings for college football.
Chiefs-Bears was the most-watched NFL game on any network this week — averaging 24.3 million viewers on FOX.
September 26, 2023

CBS Nets 13-Year High in September NFL Viewership

This month’s NFL on CBS broadcasts averaged 18.69 million viewers.
Viewership for TNF on Amazon is up 21% through two weeks over last season.
September 26, 2023

Amazon Gets Back-to-Back 'Thursday Night Football' Ratings Wins

Amazon's TNF viewership is up 21% through two weeks over last season.
September 25, 2023

ESPN Reportedly Closing Studios In Aftermath Of Layoffs

ESPN's Seaport studio will reportedly close by 2025.
Ohio State players celebrate after after their defeat of Notre Dame in the final seconds at Notre Dame Stadium.
September 25, 2023

Ohio State-Notre Dame Scores Historic 10.5M Viewers for NBC

It was NBC’s second-most-watched regular-season college football game ever.
The in-market KnightTime+ streaming service will offer 69 regular-season games.
September 25, 2023

Vegas Golden Knights Launch New Streaming Model Amid RSN Fallout

The KnightTime+ streaming service will offer 69 regular-season games.
Deion Sanders on College GameDay
September 22, 2023

ESPN Beats Rival Fox in Deion Sanders Bowl

ESPN’s “College GameDay” more than doubled the audience of Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” in Boulder.
Deion Sanders and The Rock
September 21, 2023

Deion Sanders Reshaping College Football Fanbase With Buffaloes Surge

Deion Sanders has made Colorado "Black America's Team."