$730,000 gender pay gap in US World Cup bonuses, claims report

The US women’s team has earned $90,000 in bonuses for reaching the World Cup quarterfinal, a sum that would be six times higher were the women entitled to the same bonus structure as their men’s counterparts, according to a document obtained by the Guardian.

Megan Rapinoe of USA, Alyssa Naeher of USA, Samantha Mexis of USA; Becky Sauerbrunn of USA and Kelley O'Hara of USA during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup France Round of 16 match between Spain and USA at Stade Auguste Delaune on June 24, 2019 in Reims, France. (Photo by Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport via Getty Images)

Players of the US women’s national team, currently defending their title in the FIFA Women's World Cup in France, have each already earned $90,000 in bonuses, a Guardian report reveals.

However, the catch in the story is this - if the US women were entitled to the same tournament bonuses as the men's national team, their rewards would have been six times larger.

As it stands before the France vs USA quarterfinal tie, the players would have already earned around $550,000 each, with a considerable portion of the tournament still left to be played.

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Men earn more across the board in World Cup perks from US Soccer and are also entitled to a number of bonus which women aren't. A $4.5m sum to be shared should the men advance to the World Cup knockouts, is an example of one such perk.

Here are some of the points that stand out from the report:

- The maximum a female player could make for qualifying to the World Cup would be around $37,500- a male player could earn $108,695.

- If the team was adjudged the world champion, a women's national team player could receive up to $200,000 whereas a member of the men's national team would earn a maximum $1,114,429. The USWNT gets $110,000 each for winning the World Cup, while he men’s agreement gives the team $9.375m, which is divided equally across all 23 players.

These figures come from a Guardian analysis of World Cup bonuses offered by US Soccer in the collective bargaining agreements for the women’s and men’s national teams.