Equal pay my ...

As I have bloviated about here a few times now, the whole WNT equal pay issue is a bit of a red herring (a logical fallacy) that is IMO nothing more than a way to put pressure on US Soccer regarding the upcoming case regarding the CBA for the WNT.

There was a spectacular piece in the NYT regarding an objective, and I mean truly objective, look at the comparison between the MNT and WNT pay.

You can see the whole article, Pay Disparity in U.S. Soccer? It’s Complicated, here, courtesy of the NYT.

Here are some of the highlights:

• MNT for their history is more revenue generating than the WNT. Note this does not include sponsorships and broadcast rights. Since 2012 however the MNT has brought in a factor of 2 more revenue if we include this point. Factor of 2 folks.

• Top (12) paid players in US Soccer are, (6) men and (6) women, all over $1M.

• Best paid women made about $1.2M since 2008 and in some cases made MORE than the men in similar positions on the MNT.

• It is only until you get to about the 25th position on the roster do this tip away from the women and it does dip big time.

• Equal work? Nope. WNT qualifies in 2 weeks time when the MNT takes 2 years and many more matches.

• What about those bonuses for the men (in general) v. the women? Well, go talk to FIFA, and guess what, they base it on revenue too.

• Per diem and sponsorship appearance work? No question, as I have stated earlier should be equal, and in fact I think the appearance fees should be bigger for the WNT right now as they are coming off a HUGE win and have a chance at same in the Olympics. This is the one point that is correct in Carli Lloyd's horribly misinformed article in the NYT. Whoever advised her to write that should be ashamed of themselves as she is now left looking really silly.

Bottom line? I am for equal pay when there is equal business worth. [Don't get me going about human value. A cardio-thoracic surgeon makes less than Hope Solo. Equality?] Certainly equal pay when it comes to things like per diems, no question about that. But please stop the crap reporting about the "mistreatment" the WNT suffers. It is utter bull$h!t.

The media is whipped up into a lather and makes it seem like the WNT are this rag tag bunch of kids who can't feed themselves and are playing with used shoes. Enough. It is starting to be seen for what it is ... a tactic for more in the CBA.

You want equality? How about NWSL salaries? Equal work as these players are shoulder to shoulder with their WNT counterparts. Their pay you ask? A maximum of about $39K and a minimum of about $7K ... per year ... which is below the poverty line if this is all they do.

Should these women get paid the same as a WNT player? Why not? Equal work, equal pay, right?

More equality? Let's talk criminality? Imagine, just imagine if Tim Howard were accused of the things Hope Solo actually did per the court papers in her domestic violence trial, or her suspension after her husband was arrested for driving a team van while drunk. Do we think he would be on the MNT?

Not a chance.