Equal Pay for Equal Play?

Equal pay has been a hot topic recently, thanks in large part to the highly publicized EEOC complaint filed by members of the U.S. Women's Soccer team. The U.S women allege that each member of the women's national soccer team is paid thousands of dollars less than the men at nearly every level of competition, from playing "friendly" matches to qualifying and playing in the World Cup. For example, the U.S. men's and women's national teams each play a minimum of 20 friendly matches. The top five players on the men's team make an average of $406,000 each year from these games, while the top five women are guaranteed only $72,000 each year. The bonus paid to a U.S. male soccer player who wins a World Cup for the United States is $390,000, while the U.S. women each received only a $75,000 bonus for winning the World Cup. The U.S. men receive almost $69,000 for making a World Cup roster, and the U.S. Women receive $15,000 for making the World Cup team. According to the U.S. women, U.S. Soccer projects that the women's team will generate a profit of $5.2 million in 2017 while the men's team is forecast to lose almost $1 million. However, one important fact that has not been widely publicized is that the current wages of the U.S. women are the result of collective bargaining. The current collective bargaining agreement expired in 2012, and there is a legal dispute between U.S. Soccer and the players' union regarding the validity of that contract. The wage issue and the labor issue may come to a head soon--some of the U.S. women are considering a boycott (or strike?) of the 2016 Olympic Games unless their pay demands are addressed. The U.S. women are enormously popular after winning the World Cup in 2015, so this issue will continue to receive a lot of attention.