Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan on landmark USWNT equal pay deal: "This is a huge win"

“This is a huge win for us. As always, there’s really no justice going backwards. The only justice now is ensuring that this never happens again and this lawsuit is a massive step forward."

That was Megan Rapinoe's reaction after the United States women's national football team (USWNT) reached a historic agreement with U.S. Soccer over equal pay earlier on Tuesday (22 February).

Speaking on NBC's Today show, she continued, "It was a long process. In the end, it came together. For us as players, I’m just so proud of the way we stuck together, and really just put our foot down.

"We already settled the equal working conditions claim awhile back. Equal pay coming, contingent on a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) and the settling of the back pay damages, so for us this is just a huge win in ensuring that we not only right the wrongs of the past, but set the next generation up for something we only could’ve dreamed of."

The settlement sees the players receive US$ 24m plus bonuses, matching those of the men's national team.

Two key players in the agreement, forwards Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, sat down with U.S. Soccer President Cindy Cone to speak with NBC's Today show about the historic deal.

Rapinoe and Morgan were among five players who filed a complaint to the federal Equal Opportunity Commission in April 2016. The women sued three years later, seeking damages under the federal Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

That claim was thrown out in May 2019 by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, but the USWNT appealed the decision to a higher court, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. After months of written submissions, the two parties have settled before the case went to trial.

"Just seeing this lawsuit and the settlement, U.S. Soccer has agreed to equalise the prize money moving forward," Morgan told Today. "Obviously we call on FIFA to truly equalise that for men’s and women’s tournaments.

"We are looking to work with the men’s players’ association and U.S. Soccer to have that equal moving further. It’s really what we set out to do: equalise on all fronts and we’ve been able to achieve that and it’s a really proud moment for all of us."

'This is a huge win for women's sport'

USSF released a statement on its website, ussoccer.com, expressing pleasure at having "resolved our longstanding dispute over equal pay".

"For a lot of reasons. One, being in a contentious litigation with our players is not good for our sport. This is a momentous occasion," said Cone on Today.

"This is a huge win for soccer. This is a huge win for U.S. Soccer, the players, of women’s sport, and I’m just so excited to move forward together and actually start working with the women’s team to grow the game both here at home and abroad.”

'Incredible turning point in women's sports'

The USWNT's agreement could have far-reaching positive effects on women's sport in general.

The women's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and USA at Beijing 2022 averaged 3.54 million viewers on NBC in the United States, more than any National Hockey League (NHL) television audience this season.

Top players including Marie-Philip Poulin and Hilary Knight are part of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association whose aim is to create a viable professional league following the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2019.

"I think the door’s already been opened, to be honest," Rapinoe concluded. "Everywhere you look, here we are performing well beyond just the constraints of our sport. We are in the midst of an incredible turning point in women’s sports. I think we’re all going to look back on this moment with incredible pride.