As a fan of the sport, one might assume that a soccer team’s job is to win as many games as they possibly can. However, from a business perspective, a team’s job is to attract large audiences both physically and digitally. Following this perspective, the USSF argued in a court filing reported by The Washington Post, that the difference in pay is a result of “differences in aggregate revenue generated by the different teams,” and is in no way related to gender. Although it is true that over the long term the men’s team has brought in more revenue, in recent years the women’s team has flipped the script. In 2015, the USWNT won their first World Cup championship in the era of social media, taking the Internet by storm, gaining fans and attention like never before. According to audited financial statements obtained by The Wall Street Journal, that year, the women’s games generated almost $2 million more than men’s games. And ever since then, the USWNT has consistently generated more revenue than the USMNT. This is not only unusual, it’s phenomenal.

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