Athletes

USWNT Star Carli Lloyd Takes on Gender Pay Gap

The USWNT won major equal pay concessions in a settlement in February.
Carli Lloyd and other team leaders see that victory as just the beginning.

Dec 13, 2022 | 05:05 pm

UPDATED Dec 14, 2022 | 02:26 pm

Former USWNT player Carli Lloyd sitting on stage and answering questions

Adam Monacelli/USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2022 World Cup represented a step forward for both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Soccer Teams.

While the men returned to the global tournament after missing it in 2018, the women’s team saw big returns on an equal pay settlement agreed to in February with the U.S. Soccer Federation.

As a result of the settlement, the men and women’s teams will split their winnings, meaning that the USWNT will receive $6.5 million for the men’s team making the quarterfinals – more than they made for their last two World Cup wins combined.
“It was an amazing thing to see,” Carli Lloyd, who was on both the 2015 and 2019 USWNT championship teams, told Front Office Sports. “For us, this was just another stepping stone to continue to push on and make things better.”
Lloyd, a former USWNT co-captain, is working with investing app Acorns on an initiative to get more women to invest.

FIFA Next?

The unprecedented move by the U.S. national teams has put a spotlight on FIFA, which provides far less in prize money for the Women’s World Cup.

Soccer’s global governing body will distribute $440 million to World Cup teams this year, compared to $30 million for the Women’s World Cup in 2019.

“There are underlying systemic issues ingrained in the sport from years of inequality, and these recent wins are one step in the right direction,” said Lloyd.

Megan Rapinoe, who co-captained the USWNT with Lloyd, echoed that sentiment following February’s settlement, saying FIFA “should feel like they’re next.”