New law ensures all Team USA athletes—including future World Cups—receive equal pay and benefits regardless of gender

This year’s World Cup marks a milestone for women’s equal pay because of the U.S. Soccer Collective Bargaining Agreements and U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell’s (D-Wash.) newly signed national law. The Equal Pay for Team USA Act helped push U.S. Soccer to take this historic step and ensures equality in future events by guaranteeing equal pay and benefits for all athletes who represent the United States in global athletic competitions – like the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics – regardless of gender.

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President Biden signed the Equal Pay for Team USA Act into law on Jan. 5, 2023, and the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 World Cup will be some of the first world events where these new benefits apply. Sen. Cantwell introduced this bipartisan bill with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) in July 2021 and passed this bill unanimously through the U.S. Senate.

“From here on out, when women win, they no longer have to worry that a men’s team will still somehow be paid more. With President Biden’s signature, we’re ensuring that when you wear the Team USA logo, you will truly be equal,” Sen. Cantwell said when the bill became law.

Last September, Sens. Cantwell and Capito joined leaders of U.S. Soccer, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) and the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT) for the signing of the historic Collective Bargaining Agreements, which guarantees their players are paid equally.

Sen. Cantwell spoke on her effort to pass national legislation, saying on the field, “My colleague is here tonight. I’m a Democrat from Washington state. She’s a Republican from West Virginia. But we are going to use the power of this moment to get national legislation passed so that every young girl in every sport knows that we will have equal pay when it comes to sports in the United States of America. Let’s celebrate!”

(First photo: Sen. Cantwell cheering on the first-ever agreement guaranteeing equal pay for top-ranked USWNT players)
(Second photo left to right: Sen. Capito, U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone, Sen. Cantwell and U.S. Soccer Foundation CEO Ed Foster-Simeon)
(Third photo: Megan Rapinoe and Sen. Cantwell)

Before, men and women could be compensated differently for representing Team USA in the same sport. For years there have been stories – from the women’s national teams in many sports being paid consistently less to women’s teams flying in coach to games while men’s teams sat in business class and waiting months for medical reimbursements.  

The bipartisan S.2333 Equal Pay for Team USA Law requires that all athletes representing the United States in global amateur athletic competitions receive equal compensation and benefits in their sport, regardless of gender. It also would require equal payment for medical care, travel and expenses. 

The law applies to 50 different sports’ national governing bodies, like U.S. Soccer and USA Volleyball, along with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). It also requires USOPC to conduct oversight and report on compliance with the legislation.

Organizations Supporting the Equal Pay for Team USA Law:

1. Alliance of Social Workers in Sports
2. American Volleyball Coaches Association
3. Athlete Ally
4. Center for Sport, Peace & Society – University of Tennessee
5. Champion Women
6. Equality League
7. Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media
8. National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association
9. National Organization for Women
10. National Women’s Law Center
11. Sports Fans Coalition
12. The Female Quotient
13. The Tucker Center – University of Minnesota
14. Trajectory Women
15. UltraViolet
16. UN Women
17. US Olympic and Paralympic Committee
18. US Soccer
19. US Squash
20. USA Curling
21. USA Volleyball
22. USA Water Ski & Wake Sports
23. Voice in Sport
24. Voice in Sport Foundation 
25. Washington Spirit Women’s Soccer Team
26. West Virginia University Women’s Soccer Team
27. Women Win
28. Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
29. Women’s Sports Foundation
30. Wrestle Like a Girl