With the Round of 16 Loss, US Women's Soccer Players Pocket an Additional $4.4 Million Dollars That the Men Earned for Them

When my boys were young, they all played soccer. Sort of. Our eldest was terrible. He played one year. The middle kid was okay but not very motivated. The youngest was good. Good enough to be ranked nationally as a youth, sign a national letter of intent, and play in college. Because of him, I went from not caring for the game to paying attention, to understanding tactics and game planning, to refereeing. I think I have at least a middling understanding of the game.

The US has a robust youth soccer system – particularly for girls. Fully a third of American girls play soccer. For American girls, travel soccer is where girls make lifelong friends and are afforded a chance for an athletic scholarship and a (mostly) paid college education. US Soccer would identify the best girls from youth soccer and college and develop them for the national team. All positive. All good for America. All good for women. In international competition, the US dominated. I “knew” why USWNT was dominating World Cups. It was pretty obvious. The rest of the world didn’t care about women’s soccer. Sure, other nations would field teams, but women’s soccer was never a priority for other nations. Then things changed. Other countries started to care. They got better, and America didn’t. The world caught up.

While the rest of the world was quietly catching up, American players like Megan Rapinoe couldn’t shut up. When Rapinoe wasn’t pointing at herself or demanding that men pretending to be women be allowed to play for the National Team, she was pointing at scoreboards, touting World Cups. “We win Cups!, The men haven’t! We want the same amount of money!”

USWNT wanted to share in the men’s World Cup earnings. Although the USWNT had signed a contract, US Soccer rolled over. The men and women now share World Cup earnings. How did the USWNT elimination in the round of 16 affect the men? In short, the men got robbed. Although the men earned 11.7 million dollars from their 2022 World Cup performance, the women earned just 2.9 Million dollars by losing to Sweden. The men lost 4.4 million dollars. The women, instead of pocketing what they earned, which was 2.9 million dollars, will divide an additional 4.4 million dollars. Each player on the men’s team lost about $191,304. The men earned it, but they don’t get to keep it. Each woman player will pocket that money — money they didn’t earn. 4.4 million dollars for existing. Patriarchy? Or is that matriarchy?

Two weeks ago, I wrote:

The Women’s World Cup is far more popular than it was 10 years ago, and it is all because America fielded a dominant team. A lot of Patriots tuned in to watch America kick some butt. The USWNT drubbed the competition. And America loves a winner. Now the world is catching up. America isn’t going to dominate the competition like it used to. And Rapinoe is still on the team, so no thanks. My prediction? Interest in this WWC, at least in America, won’t match past tournaments, and If the U.S. squad doesn’t make the finals, that final will generate about the same interest as a county fair cornhole competition.

Reality is about to bite down. Hard. Interest in the Women’s World Cup, at least here in America, is about to fall off a cliff. USWNT knew this day would come, which is why they were desperate for an “equal” pay agreement. The US is no longer the big dog in women’s soccer.

Losing in the round of 16 was an appropriate ending for loudmouth Megan Rapinoe. She was speechless. Smiling and smirking, but speechless. After she air-balled her penalty kick in Sunday’s match, the woman who can’t and won’t shut up about herself was left to talk to herself and shake hands with the air.

The final moment of Megan Rapinoe’s soccer career was this missed penalty kick. pic.twitter.com/wBk8ep1HCe

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 6, 2023