U.S. women, men have not committed to single pay structure

The unions for the U.S. women's and men's national teams have not committed to agreeing to a single pay structure proposed by the U.S. Soccer Federation, the head of the federation said in a letter to fans Tuesday.

The federation's board refused to move ahead with a deal structure agreed to last spring by the men's union with USSF executive director Will Wilson, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity. That structure was agreed to only after the men threatened to strike ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League final on June 6, the person said.

USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone and Wilson, speaking during a media conference call Tuesday, declined to go into details of what occurred.

“As is the case in any negotiation, there's a lot to work through,” Wilson said.

The federation went public with its prize money proposal in September and in November met jointly with the two unions, who under federal law are not obligated to reach similar collective bargaining agreements.

“What we're talking about here is equalized prize money, identical game bonuses, identical commercial revenue-sharing agreement," Parlow Cone said. “But will there be differences in the contracts? Yes, because the teams are different, and they have different needs."

The U.S. Women's National Team Players Association and U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association declined to comment.

Parlow Cone, a former national team player, became USSF president in March 2020 when Carlos Cordeiro quit amid a backlash to the group's lawyers filing legal papers claiming the women's national team players had less physical ability and responsibility than their male counterparts.