Cantwell Takes the Field With U.S. Soccer for Signing of Historic Equal Pay Agreement

Press Release

Following tonight's U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) match against Nigeria, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined leaders of U.S. Soccer, USWNT and the Men's National Soccer Team (USMNT) for the signing of historic Collective Bargaining Agreements which guarantee players are paid equally.
The equal pay disputes inspired the senators' bipartisan Equal Pay for Team USA Act which would require equal pay and benefits for all Team USA athletes who represent the United States in global athletic competitions, like the Olympics, regardless of gender. It also would require equal payment for medical care, travel and expenses.

Sen. Cantwell, who spoke during the event, said: "Tonight is truly a historic occasion. An agreement is going to be signed that basically puts in equal pay for our female athletes because a group of women athletes, at the pinnacle of their success, had the audacity to say "we deserve equal pay for our success.' I want to thank US Women's Soccer, and since I come from Seattle where we love soccer, I have to say a special thanks to Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle who signed the original petition to make this case a reality.

"And thank you now to US Soccer, for Cindy's leadership, in getting this deal done. And making sure that we send a message to all across the United States.

"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!"

Earlier this year, the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team settled their longstanding lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, reaching an agreement on a deal to be compensated at the same rate of pay as the men's team. The two new Collective Bargaining Agreements, which run through 2028, achieve equal pay through identical economic terms. These economic terms include identical compensation for all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, and the introduction of the same commercial revenue sharing mechanism for both teams.

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