San Diego Wave FC won its first silverware of the year by beating Gotham FC 0-1 in the NWSL Challenge Cup final. The iconic win came off Alex Morgan‘s clutch header in the 88th minute. She and her teammates now look at prize money north of $3k as a reward for the win. The Wave earned a spot in the NWSL Challenge Cup final after winning the NWSL Shield in 2023. Meanwhile, Gotham made the cut because it won the NWSL. While Morgan and Co. take home the larger reward, NWSL’s sponsor UKG splurges a 4-figure prize on the runners-up too!

Each player from the winning team, San Diego Wave FC, gets $3,500 as prize money from the NWSL Challenge Cup sponsor. On the other hand, Gotham FC stars are eligible for a $2,200 reward per player. Meanwhile, Alex Morgan, who won the Challenge Cup MVP for her game-winning goal, receives an MVP bonus worth $2,000. The MVP bonus that UKG is giving this year is a novel addition to the NWSL Challenge Cup prize pool as compared to the tournament’s previous editions.

San Diego continues its winning streak against Gotham FC with the Challenge Cup triumph. Previously, the two sides met in four games. All of which was won by Alex Morgan and Co. Besides, this marks San Diego’s second major title since they joined the NWSL in 2022. Last year, they won the NWSL Shield and now opened the regular season with a Challenge Cup win. While the triumph is monumental, the San Diego Wave is looking at a prize money drop as compared to previous winners of the NWSL Challenge Cup.

NWSL Challenge Cup 2024 prize money drops significantly compared to previous years

As per various reports, the UKG upped the rewards for Challenge Cup winners and runners-up since it came on board as an NWSL sponsor in 2022. That year, each player from the winning team took home $10,000 as prize money. Whereas, each player from the runners-up team received $5,000. Additionally, the NWSL Challenge Cup was a larger tournament back in the day. It followed a round-robin and knockout format. This made even the Challenge Cup semi-finalists eligible for a $1,500 per player reward.

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Furthermore, in the 2023 edition, the UKG upped the rewards further. The then prize money pool totaled north of $1 million in a move to achieve parity with the Challenge Cup’s MLS counterpart. Interestingly, the prize money plummeted this year, as the tournament was confined to one game. Anyhow, two pieces of silverware within two years of their arrival at the NWSL is a monumental feat for the San Diego-based outfit. San Diego starts their regular season by playing KC Current on March 23.

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