2/22/22. For everyone in the world, the day held significance for its uniqueness of the date, including that it was on a Tuesday. Likely, you have a screenshot on your phone, or you might remember the moment it hit 22 seconds, because it was a special day. However, the United States Women’s Soccer Team was enjoying a different celebration on that day. The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) and the US Soccer Federation (USSF) reached an agreement of 24 million dollars and a commitment to equal pay, closing the door on the years long fight between the two for equitable pay between the men’s and women’s teams.

In 2016, 5 members of the USWNT – Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Becky Sauerbrunn, Megan Rapinoe, and Alex Morgan – sued US Soccer for discrimination in wages. It took several years until a judge in 2019 dismissed the case, delivering a low blow to the fight that had taken 3 years. Now, 2 years later, the USWNT finally reached a deal with US Soccer without having to go through the legal process. 

The deal, comprising 24 million dollars, agreed to pay the players of the lawsuit a collective 22 million over the course of 4 years, and the other 2 million goes towards the players’ post-soccer goals and to growing the women’s game through charitable causes. US Soccer also agreed to more talks to decide on a collective bargaining agreement. Many hailed it as a significant triumph that signals the beginning of equality in pay not only in soccer but for women all around the world. But others, such as Hope Solo, criticized the deal for being made of backpay and for not actually addressing the issues that the 5 originally sued for – equal pay for women for all generations. 

These viewpoints show the conflict that has defined the 6 year equal pay fight and all its intricacies. The men’s and women’s teams have had different contracts making it difficult in some situations to really compare who is getting paid for what and how much. However, when ESPN analyzed it all, they did confirm that the men’s team did get higher bonuses and more pay than the women. Consistently. So a commitment from US Soccer to fix that disparity that has plagued the soccer system in the United States would be a significant thing; it would prove to the world that for one of the first times, women were getting paid correctly for the work they did and it would set the tone for other companies and corporations to do the same. 

Megan Rapinoe, a well-known attacker for the USWNT – who won FIFA World Player of the Year in 2019 – when interviewed said, “justice comes in the next generation never having to go through what we went through.” Others from the team tweeted, “Today is a great day and the work will always continue!” (Krieger), and “It’s been a long road, but worth the fight.” (Dunn). These sentiments echo the many other comments from current and former USWNT players, notably Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, and also from other non-soccer female athletes. 

However, former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo, tweeted “It [equal pay] doesn’t exist yet and is not guaranteed.” She also tweeted that “backpay for a select group of players isn’t equal pay and it’s not what this fight was about.” 

Her comments reveal the deep rift within the women’s soccer community on how to best combat unequal pay. To an extent, Solo’s comment is true; there hasn’t been any agreement yet on how to implement equal pay going forward. But the rest of the team’s comments also hold true. The deal was certainly historic and groundbreaking. And it is to be hoped that the 24 million dollars will set a precedent for how female athletes and women in the workforce get paid. However, it remains to be seen from US Soccer and future agreements whether the equal pay disparity in women’s soccer is resolved or whether there will still be fights to bring the women the money they deserve.