Overview
- The U.S. men’s team’s run to the 2026 World Cup round of 16 produced a $16 million FIFA prize that triggered the CBA payout rules, yielding $6.4 million for each national-team player pool after U.S. Soccer keeps 20%.
- Under the CBA formula the $6.4 million equals about $246,153 per player on a 26-player roster and the men’s share will be paid on the contract’s schedule while the women’s share is being held.
- The women’s portion is sitting in an interest-bearing account until the USWNT qualifies and its 2027 World Cup roster is finalized, and any interest earned will also be split between both player pools.
- The equal-split rule was written into the 2022 agreements that settled the USWNT’s discrimination dispute and requires pooling of FIFA prize money before a 50/50 split of the players’ share.
- Coverage and commentators have sharply disagreed about the fairness of the split, with critics citing the large commercial gap between the men’s and women’s tournaments and others saying redistribution is a tool to grow the women’s game.