Players from the U.S. women’s national team have settled their class action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation for a total of $24 million, the two sides announced in a court filing. In settling the suit, the players will receive a lump sum payment of $22 million. U.S. Soccer will also pay an additional $2 million into an account to benefit the USWNT players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer. The settlement is contingent on a new collective bargaining agreement being ratified by the players on the USWNT. Once this takes place, final approval of the settlement by the District Court will be scheduled. According to a statement from the players, “This will fully resolve the litigation.” The lawsuit was initially filed in March of 2019, and the portion of the lawsuit for equal pay was actually dismissed by the court in May of 2020, although the players timely appealed that decision. In the end, although the players did not receive the $66.7 million in back pay that they initially sked for, the players received a considerable amount of money and raised awareness for equal pay in soccer and other women’s sports.
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