Women’s World Cup: US women’s coach paid 27 per cent as much as men’s coach

US coach Vlatko Andonovski, right, with star player Megan Rapinoe. Photo / AP

US women’s football coach Vlatko Andonovski earned 27 per cent as much as men’s coach Gregg Berhalter in the year ending last March 31, down slightly from 28 per cent in the previous year.

Andonovski earned US$446,495 (about $724,000), according to the tax filing by the US Soccer Federation (USSF), including US$50,000 ($81,000) in bonuses for the Americans’ third-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics. Berhalter earned US$1,641,398 ($2,662,000), including US$300,000 ($487,000) in bonuses during a year that included the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup title.

Berhalter remained the federation’s highest-paid employee. In the previous fiscal year, Andonovski earned US$357,597 ($580,000) and Berhalter US$1,291,539 ($2,095,000).

Earnie Stewart earned US$799,380 ($1,297,000) as the USSF’s sporting director, virtually identical to his US$799,699 the prior year. Men’s general manager Brian McBride earned $346,494 ($562,000), a slight increase from US$338,417 ($549,000).

Women’s general manager Kate Markgraf was at US$500,000 ($811,000) for the second straight year. She also has the title of head of women’s football and her duties include interacting with Fifa, Concacaf and national associations.

CEO Will Wilson earned US$642,348 and his predecessor, Dan Flynn, was listed at US$251,886 ($408,000) as an ambassador and former officer. In a huge management turnover, Wilson left October 31, McBride on January 31 and Stewart on February 15.

Berhalter’s status is unclear after the expiration of his contract on December 31. He is under investigation for a 1991 domestic violence allegation. Anthony Hudson, one of his assistants, was appointed interim coach last month. Hudson was the All Whites coach from 2014 to 2017.

Chief commercial officer David Wright earned US$516,257 ($837,000) and Pinky Raina, the chief financial officer and chief operating officer, earned US$466,864 ($757,000). Chief legal officer Karen Leetzow earned US$410,714 ($666,000).

Cindy Parlow Cone, the USSF president, does not receive a salary. A bylaw amendment to establish a US$125,000 ($203,000) annual salary for the federation’s president failed to gain approval at the federation’s annual general meeting last March, receiving 58.91 per cent approval and falling short of the two-thirds needed. A similar proposal is on the agenda for this year’s meeting, scheduled for March 16-19 in San Diego.

John Cone, her husband, received US$50,280 ($81,600) as payment and expense reimbursement for his work with the USSF coaching education team, down from US$112,606 ($183,000) the previous year.

Among players on the women’s team, listed players included Emily Sonnett (US$386,742 or $627,000), Becky Sauerbrunn (US$379,067 or $616,000), Carli Lloyd (US$376,827 or $611,000, listed as her married name, Carli Hollins), Kelly O’Hara (US$375,177 or $608,000) and Alyssa Naeher (US$373,327 or $605,000).

The USSF received US$29.9 million ($48.5m) from Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of Major League Soccer, as part of an agreement that expired on December 31.

Legal fees included US$4.9m ($8m) to Lathan & Watkins, which represented the USSF in the equal pay lawsuit by women’s players, and US$1.4m ($2.27m) to Morgan Lewis & Bockius, which represented the USSF in collective bargaining.

Revenue was listed at US$122.3m ($1.98m) and functional expenses at US$145.1m ($235m), including US$24m ($39m) to settle the lawsuit by women players and US$2m (3.24m) for Covid-related costs.

The federation said it had US$108.8m ($175m) in what it called programme service revenue, including US$45.8m ($74m) from sponsorship and US$44.8m ($72m) from national team international games. That was up from US$39.98m ($65m) in sponsor and royalty revenue in the year ending March 2021 and US$3.5m ($5.7m) from national team international games, which were sharply curtailed during the pandemic and played in front of no or limited fans.