The US National Team won $16 million, but will have to give half to women's soccer due to a woke agreement by Biden

The U.S. men's national team generated $16 million in prize money after reaching the Round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup. However, the players will not receive the full amount corresponding to the squad: due to an "equal pay" agreement ratified in 2022, they will have to share the prize with the U.S. women's national team.

The unusual scheme arises from the collective agreements signed by U.S. Soccer with both teams during the presidency of the Democrat Joe Biden, after years of public pressure and lawsuits initiated by the women's team to demand equal pay.

According to the agreements, the U.S. Soccer Federation retains 20% of the prize money earned in each World Cup. The remaining 80% must be divided equally between the male players and the female players who are part of the squad in their respective World Cup.

Of the $16 million generated by the men's team's performance in the 2026 World Cup, $6.4 million will go to the 26 players who participated in the tournament. Another $6.4 million will be allocated to the 26 female players who make up the U.S. team in the Women's World Cup in 2027, provided that the United States qualifies.

In this way, each player will initially receive about $246,153 from the prize generated by the men's team. The money reserved for the women's team will be deposited in an interest-bearing account until the final list of players for the 2027 World Cup is confirmed.

The system is a direct consequence of the woke agenda pushed for years around American soccer, which ended up equalizing the distribution of prizes despite the enormous economic and performance differences between the two competitions.

The agreement also works in reverse: the prizes earned by the women's team in 2027 must be distributed under the same scheme with the male players. However, the difference in the amounts generated by both competitions makes the men's prize the main financial contribution to the common fund.

The United States was eliminated after losing 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16. If the North American team had advanced to the quarterfinals, the prize would have risen to $20 million and each team would have received $8 million.