How Much Do Professional Soccer Players Make? These numbers may shock you!

First off, let me start this post by saying HECK YEAH USA WOMEN’S SOCCER!!!!  It was so much fun watching the USA women dominate the World Cup this year.  I hope you got a chance to watch some of the games and especially the final game on Sunday!

The final game was between USA and Japan which was a rematch from the last women’s world cup, which we had unfortunately lost.  Well, this year was different and USA won 5-2!  BOOM.

I knew it was off to a great start when we were up 2-0 within the first 4 minutes of the game.  Those girls are some bad a$$es, let me tell ya!  I played soccer my whole life so I can completely appreciate their athletic ability and skill.  I also love how they don’t flop around and act like babies like the men do.  Sorry guys, but it’s true!

So, today I wanted to touch on a subject that just drives me crazy.  After the World Cup this year, I found myself curious as to how much do professional soccer players make.  These women dedicate their entire life to soccer and I was assuming they get paid a lot.  After all, I’ve heard the stories of how much David Beckham makes, so I was wondering how much the women make.

how much do professional soccer players make

Well…..I was in for a surprise.  A very sad surprise.

Here’s the scoop…

The total payout for the men’s world cup last year was $576 million.

The total payout for this year’s women’s world cup will be $15 million.  The men made 40 TIMES as much as the women.

The championship prize for last year’s men’s world cup was $8 million.

The championship prize for this year’s women’s world cup was $2 million.

The National Women’s Soccer League has salary ranges from $6,000 to $30,000 a year.   In some cities, this may put players below the poverty line.  These are role models for our children, women who give up their lives to represent their country and get paid less than $30,000 a year.  The average annual salary for male soccer players in the MLS for the 2013 season was $148,693.26.  This difference is simply ridiculous to me and makes me so mad!

“In aggregate, first division women’s soccer players are making 98.6 percent less than professional soccer’s male cohort,” according to Fusion, making it one of the worst gender pay gaps in any workplace.  Come on people, it’s 2015, how is this still happening!?

So, our World Cup Champions are bringing in $30,000 annually (if they are one of the best) yet someone like David Beckham signed a 5 year contract in 2007 for $250 million dollars.  $250 MILLION DOLLARS to just play for the L.A. Galaxy.

What…what?!?!?!  Is this real life?

I mean, the US Women have won 3 world cups and the best the US men have ever done was in 1930 and got 3rd place.  This just doesn’t seem fair.  I thought we were over this type of gender pay gap now that it’s 2015!!

What do you think about the topic of how much do professional soccer players make in regards to the men vs women???  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Leave a comment below!

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2 thoughts on “How Much Do Professional Soccer Players Make? These numbers may shock you!”

  1. Not taking into account how much David Beckham makes, I wonder how much the other male soccer players make. Before signing on for merchandising (Like Nike, Addidas, etc), like what is their base pay? I don’t follow sports at all, so what I’m wondering is how frequently women’s soccer is on ESPN and its sister channels. More people would probably support it if it were put out there for more to see. I’m not saying the discrepancy is a good thing, it’s absolutely not, but now that USA has won the Women’s World cup, are they going to start showing more women’s sports on TV? I doubt it. Look at the WNBA. I don’t even know when they play, what cities they’re in, or if I can even watch on TV (But again, I don’t follow sports). It’s pretty mind-boggling and discouraging that they make just slightly more than I do, and I’m an office drone. 🙁

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