The EEOC complaint says in not offering equal remuneration for the MNT and WNT, U.S. Soccer is not complying with federal law, particularly in light of the performance of the women's team and the revenue generated.
So how big is the pay gap?
The players contend in the filing that the WNT members are paid almost four times less than their male counterparts.
Sports Illustrated obtained the full figures and breakdown below.
Payment situation
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USWNT (2013-present)
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USMNT (2015-18)
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Friendlies (per player, vs. teams not in FIFA's top 25, excluding Mexico)
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$1,350 for a win
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$9,375 for a win; $6,250 for a tie; $5,000 for a loss
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Friendlies (per player, vs. teams ranked 11-25, excluding Mexico)
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$1,350 for a win
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$12,500 for a win; $6,250 for a tie; $5,000 for a loss
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Friendlies (per player, vs. teams ranked 1-10 and Mexico)
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$1,350 for a win
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$17,625 for a win; $8,125 for a tie; $5,000 for a loss
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World Cup roster bonus
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$15,000 per player WCQ match bonus; $15,000 per player WC roster bonus
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$68,750 per player
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World Cup qualifiers
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N/A
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$12,500 per player per win; $6,000 per player per draw; $4,000 per player per loss
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World Cup qualification
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N/A
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$2,500,000 split among team player pool
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World Cup per game payment
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N/A
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$6,875 per player, regardless of result
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World Cup first round points bonus
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N/A
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$218,750 to team player pool per point earned
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World Cup second round advancement bonus
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N/A
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$4,500,000 split among team player pool
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World Cup fourth place bonus
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$10,000/player
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N/A
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World Cup third place bonus
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$20,000/player
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$1,250,000 to team player pool
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World Cup second place bonus
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$32,500/player
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$6,250,000 to team player pool
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World Cup champion bonus
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$75,000/player
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$9,375,000 to team player pool
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Player in World Cup training camp, not game roster
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N/A
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$2,500
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Per Diem
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$50/domestic venue; $60/international
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$62.50 domestic; $75 international
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Sponsor appearance fee
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$3,000/appearance
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$3,750/appearance
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Attendance ticket revenue bonus
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$1.20/ticket
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$1.50/ticket
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Post-World Cup victory tour (number of games dependent on WC outcome; tour dependent on WC finish)
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$1.8M for team player pool for finishing first in World Cup; $6,750 per player for finishing second; $6,250 per player for finishing third
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N/A
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But isn't pay in line with the revenue generated by the team?
When it comes to the remuneration of women's sport, the economics are often cited as a reason for any pay gap.
In this case the USWNT argues that in 2015, by US Soccer's own financial reports, the team had generated approx. $18 million for the federation.
That's a lot of numbers but in short the FY15 numbers looked like this.
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Revenue
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Team Expenses
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Event expenses
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Profit/Loss
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Women
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$17.6 M
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$6.3 M
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$6.2 M
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+5.188 million
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Men
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$9.0 M
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$7.7 M
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$2.2M
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-$964,000
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(Source: US Soccer AGM Report)
Even with those numbers, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati has fired back via teleconference saying that over a 4 year World Cup cycle, the women’s team does not generate as much revenue as the men’s team.
Further, it was stated that the men’s team in this particular cycle, the men’s team has generated twice as much revenue.
“I’d reverse the question: Do you think revenue should matter at all in determination of compensation in a market economy?,” said Gulati when asked SI's Grant Wahl if Gulati thought the USWNT deserved equal pay.
“If we look at the track record of teams, a lot of different things go into the compensation for the players … Part of it is based on revenue, part of it is based on revenues that accrue from international competitions, part of it is based on incentives and the performance of the teams.”
Moving on up
Even if past figures show less revenue there is no denying that the revenue from the USWNT is on a fast upward trend.
US Soccer agrees, with the USWNT a significant part of their budgeting for the next year.
All these calculations don't even account for the prestige the program provides to US Soccer, particularly at time when the men's national team is struggling and the US U23 missed out on qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games leaving the 3x defending gold medallist USWNT as the sole football representative.