Women’s football has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years. Now, Europe’s top clubs have women’s teams competing in domestic competitions and the UEFA Women’s Champions League. There is still a gender pay gap between women’s footballers and their male counterparts. Yet, things are getting better.
The top women’s footballers and those in the middle of the pack are now able to make a full-time living playing the game.
How much money do women’s football leagues pay?
In the United States, although the women’s national team are considered the best in the world, players in the National Women’s Soccer League do not make as much as in other top-tier leagues.
The NWSL pays a max salary for non-USWNT and non-Canadian national team players of $50,000 a season. The minimum salary is $20,000 a year.
In France, female footballers make an average salary of €4,000 per month or about €48,000 per season. In England, the average yearly salary is £35,000. Not all players make the same in these leagues and in France, some women’s footballers are on six figures.
Who are the highest-paid women’s footballers?
Carli Lloyd
Carli Lloyd currently plays for NWSL side Sky Blue FC and the USWNT. According to reports, she earned $518,000 for the 2020 season. Compared to other women’s footballers on this list, NWSL players that are members of the USWNT have their salaries paid by US Soccer rather than their clubs.
Kadidiatou Diani
In 2020, Paris Saint-Germain announced that Diani would be the second-highest paid female footballer in the world. She signed a contract with the Parisian club for €450,000 a season.
Alex Morgan
American player Alex Morgan joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2020. Prior to moving to the club, she was the world’s third-highest paid women’s player at $450,00 a year. Morgan’s actual earnings are more than double that figure due to a massive amount of endorsements in the US.
Sam Kerr
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr comes in as one of the highest-paid women’s players at $410,000 per season. The Aussie player is the all-time leading scorer in NWSL and Australian W-League history. She moved to Chelsea in 2019.