Spain's Alexia Putellas receives the Best FIFA Women's player award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the ceremony of the Best FIFA Football Awards in Paris, France, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Women athletes made some strides in terms of pay equity after FIFA announced that this year's World Cup prize money will exceed $150 million — but it still lags far behind the men's tournament.
The raise marks a 300 percent increase from the previous tourney in 2019 when the winners took home just $30 million. It's also 10 times the amount paid out in 2015.
Still, the pay gap between men and women soccer players remains wide. In last year's men's World Cup in Qatar, the prize stood at $440 million. FIFA stated that it is aiming to have pay parity by 2027.
"FIFA is stepping up not just with words but with actions. Unfortunately this is not the case of everyone across the industry," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, noting the continued discrepancy in payments from broadcasting and advertising partners, according to Barron's. "Offer us 20 percent less, or 50 percent less, but not 100 percent less. Women deserve much, much more than that, and we are here to fight for them and with them, but we need to fight together."
The announcement came just weeks after the U.S. Soccer Federation settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. women's national team for $24 million on the basis of pay inequity. Last year the organization also established a collective bargaining process involving both the men's and women's national teams to pool and equally divide prize money.
This June marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous 1997 "Bite Fight”, the iconic boxing rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield when Tyson shockingly bit a piece of his opponent’s ear off. As a macabre tribute to the incident, the boxing legend’s line of cannabis products, Tyson 2.0, has released “Mike Bites", edibles in the shape of an ear complete with a bite mark. Tyson, the chief brand officer and co-founder, along with CEO Adam Wilks joined Cheddar News to talk about the unique gummies. "I just think this is just me owning what I did. I'm owning my responsibility. I've done that. That was pretty bad at the time, but I turned it over to make it pretty good," the former heavyweight champion said.
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer and former Olympian Nancy Kerrigan spoke to Cheddar News about joining Ice Dreams, a national skating tour that connects legends of the sport with its next generation. Kerrigan spoke of the lessons she learned from the sport and how grateful she is for the opportunity to give something back. “I mean skating has taught me some of the greatest things in in my life," she said. "You know, you fall down, things get hard, but you get back up and you keep on trying. And if you're performing and doing something you love, I think you would actually do even better.”
Stephen Smith, Founder and CEO of Kitman Labs, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company's intelligence platform is engineering change in how athletes and sports teams prepare for games.
Sportswear giant Adidas is giving student-athletes the opportunity to become partners as affiliate brand ambassadors to help grow their networks as professional athletes. Attorney Darren Heitner, the founder of Heitner Legal, joined Cheddar News to talk about the legalities of the process. "It is absolutely a game-changer because we see a major brand make a big splash, nine months into name image and likeness rights for college athletes," he said. "While it is a paid brand affiliate type of partnership, it will open the door for 50,000-plus athletes across the country to start making some money, even if it's just through other people clicking their links and making purchases."
State and county taxpayers will be asked to commit a record $850 million in public funds toward construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium as part of a 30-year lease agreement.
Saint Peter's University - a small school in New Jersey school - has skyrocketed to the center of the sports world in a 'Cinderella' story for the record books. The ultimate underdog of the men's March Madness tournament is just the third 15-seed to reach the Sweet 16, after beating Murray State and college basketball powerhouse Kentucky. Throughout the university's historic run, Saint Pete's has reportedly been earning what amounts to millions of dollars in publicity. Amanda Christovich, reporter for Front Office Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
ESPN College Gameday LaPhonso Ellis joins Cheddar Bets to break down the NCAA Tournament so far, and who will make noise all the way down to New Orleans.
Sponsored by BetMGM
BetMGM Host Olivia Harlan Dekker joins Cheddar Bets to talk about lessons learned from this year's NCAA Tournament and to share which teams have the best value going forward.
Sponsored by BetMGM
