Women’s football is a growing sport around the world, attracting an increasing number of amateur and professional players each year. The technical level of footballers is constantly improving, but their salaries do not follow the same upward curve. Female professional soccer players earn on average twenty-five times less than their male counterparts! But how much exactly do women earn in soccer? We take stock.
What is the average salary of professional soccer players?
In salary terms, women’s professional soccer is still a long way from men’s soccer. Men’s soccer professionals earn an average of $100,000 gross per month ($78,000 net) in the first divisions and $7,525 gross per month in the second division. Paris Saint Germain, of course, is still out of the league with an average monthly salary of 990,000$.
Despite increasing popularity and increased media attention, female soccer players are still paid far less than their male counterparts, and this is largely due to the money generated from major tournaments and matches. Women’s professional leagues, for example, do not receive television rights.
The best players can earn millions of thousands of dollars a year by combining club salary, national team earnings, match bonuses and sponsorship deals. However, professional players only earn an average of $20,000 per season.
The median salary for professional soccer players is $2,494 gross according to the Soccer Federation, but there are significant disparities between clubs. In the women’s first division, the average salary is between $6,000 and $12,000 per month.
The 10 highest paid soccer players in the world
10 – Christine Sinclair (37 years old): 360,000$ a year
The Canada captain still plays at the club level with the Portland Thorns of the American Women’s National Soccer League. With 188 goals, she holds the record for the most international goals scored by a male or female player.
9 – Wendy Renard (32 years old): 370,000$ per year
Wendy Renard, one of the most prominent players in women’s club football, has spent her entire career at Lyon. Considered the best defense in the world, she has won the French Championship 15 times and the Champions League 8 times.
8 – Amandine Henry (33 years old): 375,000$ per year
Playing as a midfielder, Amandine Henry won the French Championship 9 times with Olympique Lyonnais, 5 Coupe de France victories and the Champions League 3 times. She was voted the second best player at the World Cup in 2015.
7 – Marta Vieira da Silva (36 years old): 380,000$ per year
Marta Vieira da Silva, simply called Marta, is a Brazilian player who plays as a striker. She has been crowned the FIFA Soccer Player of the Year 6 times and she is considered the greatest player of all time. Marta herself started in Brazil with the Vasco de Gama club from Rio de Janeiro, before joining the Swedish club Umeå IK and then Los Angeles Sol in the United States. She now plays for the Florida Orlando Pride.
6 – Ada Hegerberg (27 years old): 400,000$ per year
Ada Hegerberg is one of the most famous soccer players in the world. She was the highest paid soccer player in 2019. She plays as a striker for Olympique Lyonnais and in 2018 she received the first women’s Ballon d’Or in history.
5 – Julie Ertz (30 years old): 410,000$ per year
Julie Beth Ertz is an American player who plays for the Angel City club in California and plays as a defender. She won the World Cup twice with the United States in 2015 and 2019.
4 – Megan Rapinoe (37 years old): 430,000$ per year
Megan Rapinoe was crowned FIFA’s Best Women’s Player of 2019 and she won the Women’s Ballon d’Or that same year. A true soccer icon and the most famous player in the world, she won the World Cup twice with the United States in 2015 and 2019, as well as the gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
3 – Alex Morgan (33 years old): 435,000$ per year
Playing as a forward for the Wave in San Diego, California, Alex Morgan was like Megan Rapinoe Olympic champion in 2012 and world champion in 2015 and 2019. She played with Olympique Lyonnais in 2017, winning the French Championship and the Champions League against the Paris. Saint Germain.
2 – Sam Kerr (29 years old): 470,000$ a year
Samantha May Kerr is an Australian forward who plays for Chelsea, England. She won the Championship with Chelsea in her first season in 2019 and again the following season. She finished as the championship’s top scorer in 2020 with 21 goals and 8 assists.
1 – Carli Lloyd (40 years old): 495,000$ per year
Carli Anne Lloyd has won two Olympic gold medals, two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles, and Women’s Player of the Year of FIFA. Lloyd was the first player to score 3 goals in a Women’s World Cup final match (one goal against Brazil and two goals against Japan). After declaring that she would soon be leaving the national team, Lloyd played her final cap for the USWNT on October 26, 2021.
These gross salaries do not include bonuses or extra-sports income from sponsorship.