USMNT Players Just Lost a Quarter Million Dollars Each They Already Earned

The USMNT earned 16 million dollars from FIFA

for reaching the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup on home soil

Millions Sit Waiting for a Women's Roster Nobody Has Picked

• US Soccer skims 20 percent off the top before a single player sees a dime.
• That leaves 12.8 million dollars, split in half between the 26 men who suited up this summer and a women's roster that does not exist yet.
• Each side gets 6.4 million dollars, or 246,153.85 dollars per player, once US Soccer cuts the checks.
• That women's half sits in an interest-bearing account because the team has not even qualified for the 2027 World Cup, a spot they can lock up as early as this November, with the actual 26-player roster not set until next spring.

It is about a federation that built a system where winning on the field stopped mattering for your paycheck.

The men can lose in the round of 16 for the sixth straight cycle and still bankroll a roster that has not kicked a ball.

Read about this convulated explanation