2023 Challenge Cup will have $1 million prize pool, NWSL announces with title sponsor UKG

The NWSL announced Thursday that it will have a $1 million prize pool for the 2023 Challenge Cup. The historic number is made possible due to a partnership with HR, payroll and workforce management company UKG, who helped increase last year's Challenge Cup prize pool and is the title sponsor for this year's mid-season tournament that kicks off April 19.

"In our league in particular, our buyers, our competition, it's the best in the world," NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told USA TODAY Sports. "And there really shouldn't be artificial barriers to them being able to enjoy the benefits of being professional athletes at all levels. We know that the United States and in particular, our athletes in our league, have been at the forefront of activism and advocacy on behalf of gender equity and pay equity. And we hope this is just another example for others to cite in a case study of what we can accomplish when we bring like-minded partners together."

The money is comparable to the estimated $1.1 million prize pool for the U.S. men's professional championship, the MLS Cup.

In February of last year, a group of women soccer players won a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation for unequal pay. After six years of litigation, they were awarded $24 million plus bonuses, which was partly to be split among current players and the rest put into a fund for players after they retire.

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The news of the increased prize pool for the NWSL Challenge Cup comes in a World Cup year where the prize pool is $110 million. The figure for this year's 32-team tournament is a 300 percent increase from the $30 million for the 24-team field from the 2019 event, which was the United States' second straight championship, but still comes well short of the $440 million winnings that the men split last year at the Qatar tournament.

The U.S. women's national team has won four total World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. The men's team has never won a World Cup with its farthest run being the quarterfinals in 2002.

"We're showing it's a possibility to pay them equally," UKG Chief People Officer Pat Wadors said. "I mean, think how well they're performing. Think about the message we're sending by not paying fairly and equitably, right? And now we are. And now not to (pay players equally) makes it more critical to look at ourselves and say, 'Is this okay?' So I think we're gonna get more momentum by doing this."

The partnership with the NWSL is part of a larger effort by UKG called "Close the Gap." The company works with Angel City FC's Sydney Leroux and Christen Press to help raise awareness about the need for gender equality across multiple industries.

The continued growth of the NWSL

The NWSL continues to show growth as it experienced record attendance at this year's opening weekend and has announced multiple expansion teams. Berman came to the NWSL last spring after spending time in the front office at the NHL and National Lacrosse League where she learned that any sports league is fueled by investment.

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"That operational rigor and professionalism and business orientation hasn't historically existed in women's sports," she said, noting that she sees the league has reached a "pivot point" where people's mindsets are changing. "When you think of an initiative as a cause or social impact, you will find that people and investors are less inclined to think of it as a business and so I think that shift in particular is what is bringing this league to the next level of success."

Berman explained what she thinks is the reasoning behind her own mentality in furthering the league.

"It probably comes from the privilege of having this be my first ever experience in women's sports, to be candid," she said. "And so I spent two plus decades working in mostly men's sports and these kinds of questions aren't an issue and aren't in that context. And so, in that way, it's helpful because I come to my role and to this league from the perspective of, 'Why not? Why shouldn't our athletes who are the best in the world be paid appropriately? Why shouldn't we be in a position to generate the kind of commercial success that exists for other leagues that are the best in the world in their sport?"

Wadors applauds Berman for having a mentality that looks forward.

"They're looking at the opportunities, they're not looking at what's holding them back," Wadors said. "They're looking at what the future brings, and that brings more people into the story with them. So I love that aspect. And change is hard, right?"

But change is positive. Last season, Carson Pickett, who won the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup with the North Carolina Courage, said, according to Just Women's Sports, “In our profession, $10K changes people’s lives."

Larger impact of equal pay

Paying women wages equal to men has a ripple affect that touches families, communities and economies. Women are generally the primary buyers in their households.

"If women were paid equally to men, (GDPs — gross domestic products) would change in countries," Wadors said, "literally would change. And that, to me, is mind-blowing."

Wadors is a self-described tomboy who played Little League Baseball growing up and was told by her uncle that women had roles in business that they could not do. She in encouraged that in her journey, and seeing the path of her 25-year-old daughter, she has seen the conversation change from opportunities being denied to others wanting to have a conversation and be a part of equity.

"I'm excited what the world is opening up to them without as much friction," Wadors said. "Not that the friction is completely gone. Let's be clear, but we're on the right track."