After the payday struck the US men’s locker room, the US and Chelsea legend John Terry weighed in on how the prize money is distributed to the Women’s national team. He does not seem too happy with the current financial arrangement and did not hold back on his thoughts.

“I don’t think it’s fair that we give money to the women’s game just because we give money to the women’s game,” John Terry said in his appearance on the Sports Uncensored show on July 10th. “I think they have to earn it. But at the same time, as Jemaine said, we have to support it as well.

We have to build it to a certain level to help these girls generate it. Now, will that get to the men’s level in the next five years? No. I don’t think so, but it’s a process as well. And you look at Chelsea next year. The women’s team is playing every single game at Stanford Bridge next year.”

Under the landmark U.S. Soccer equal pay collective bargaining agreement, there is a 50-50 split in the pooled earnings between the men’s and women’s teams. The  20% stays with the federation. After the USMNT was out of the World Cup after their defeat to Belgium, they earned roughly $16 million for reaching the knockout stage. After all the technicalities, the players’ pool amounted to $6.4 million per team and $246,153.85 to each player.

From Terry’s perspective, a $6.4 million pooled share from a men’s knockout-stage run dwarfs the USWNT’s historical FIFA earnings. The USWNT received $1.87 million for a Round of 16 exit at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and its combined FIFA prize money for winning the 2015 and 2019 tournaments was $6 million.

“We know that the sponsorship levels are nowhere near those of the men’s game, and the girls are in a much better position than they are today, and hopefully that’s going to continue to grow,” Terry said. “I think the girls would also say this; they want to earn it because they deserve to earn it.”

The main aim is to make the women’s team credible enough to earn rather than give direct “prize handouts” from the men’s pool. There should be strategies to build a proper system so that female athletes can earn and maximize their financial potential. While they may not reach the men’s level in the next 5 years, because of a major gap in the commercial aspect. It might take time, but gradually the real growth could be noticeable.

Right now, the USWNT lacks proper advertisement; the craze the Men’s FIFA sees is not even half of what the Women’s World Cup gets. It comes and goes on a whim without people celebrating it the way they have been celebrating the 2026 World Cup. As for the women’s clubs, they are coming up to speed. Studies suggest the women’s football fanbase will grow to 800 million by 2030. Hopefully, with the increase in this number, a financial boost will follow.