True icons in the United States, female football players (or soccer in the American version) have the income that goes with their status by monopolizing nine places in the top 10 of the highest paid players of the Women’s World Cup in Nova Scotia. Zealand and Australia. Europe, and in particular France, pales in this ranking next to the American ogre, which capitalizes on advertising contracts.
A little over six months after Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or even Luka Modric, it’s the turn of Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Ada Hegerberg and Alexia Putellas to cross swords for the world title. On the occasion of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the biggest stars of women’s football meet in Oceania.
And who says great talents says big salaries! The magazine Forbes ranked the highest paid female players and, glaringly, they are almost all from the United States.
Read also: How much will World Cup footballers earn in Qatar?
Stars in the land of Uncle Sam, female soccer players earn income to match their notoriety. Result, nine players of the top ten highest paid are American. Only Alexia Putellas, double Ballon d’Or playing at FC Barcelona, makes her way to the third step of the podium with 3.6 million euros in estimated income per year. In front of the Catalan, Alex Morgan sits at the top of the ranking with 6.4 million euros per year, just ahead of her teammate Megan Rapinoe and her 5.6 million euros per year.
Trinity Rodman, 4th, and the Americans largely dominate this ranking. (Photo: Saeed KHAN / AFP)
In the rest of the ranking, the teammates in selections of Morgan and Rapinoe like Trinity Rodman (2 million euros / year), Crystal Dunn (1.1 million euros / year) or Julie Ertz (1.1 million euros/year) monopolize the places of honor thanks to partnerships with Adidas, Nike, Mastercard, Subway and Spotify. You have to go down to 11th place to find the trace of another European player. This is Ada Hegerberg and her million euros earned per year. The Norwegian earns as much as the English Chloé Kelly or the Australian Sam Kerr, also playing in Europe.
Commercial revenue surpasses that of football
But then how to explain such a gap between the players of the Old Continent and the Americans? To find a first track, you have to move away from the green rectangle. The difference is not on the pitch, but off it. Almost all of the players’ earnings over a year come from advertising contracts or investments in companies. The image of women’s football being much more developed across the Atlantic than in Europe, American players are more in demand for advertising campaigns than European athletes. The gains made by female footballers in the field validate this hypothesis.
If Alexia Putellas earns three million euros less than Alex Morgan over a year, the two players nevertheless have a substantially identical salary in their respective clubs (700,000 euros annually from football). The only difference is that the commercial contracts linking the American star with Hublot and even Coca-Cola, coupled with her role as producer of a Netflix documentary on the World Cup, earn her 5.6 million euros over one year.
Alexia Putellas is the only European in the top 10 of this ranking. (Photo: Saeed KHAN / AFP)
As for Alexia Putellas, her partnerships and other off-field commitments bring her 2.8 million euros. In reality, the gains acquired in the context of football are generally identical whether it is for Alex Morgan, at the top of this ranking, or for Alyssa Naeher, pointing to 15th place. The English goalkeeper receives around the same salary from her club as Alex Morgan, the abyssal difference widening in the field of advertising and investments. Another advantage for the Americans, the collective agreement signed with the American federation guaranteeing them equal bonuses with men in 2022. Thus, the reigning world champions ensure a much larger slice of the cake than their European counterparts.
France far behind
If the presence of American women among the best paid players is hegemonic, that of French women is non-existent. In this Forbes ranking, no tricolor is present. The only breakthrough was the presence of two players from D1 Arkema: Ada Hegerberg and Lindsay Horan, both players from Olympique Lyonnais earning 1 million and 1.3 million euros respectively. But like the rest of Europe, France is lagging behind Uncle Sam in terms of the image of women’s football, which explains this weak representation.
Along with Lindsey Horan, Ada Hegerberg is the only D1 Arkema representative in this ranking. (Photo: Marty MELVILLE / AFP)
One March 2023, The Team revealed the biggest salaries of the D1 Arkema, putting aside the commercial aspect. According to the French daily, Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG) is the best paid with 600,000 euros annually, ahead of Lieke Martens (PSG) and Wendie Renard (OL), both pointed to just under 500,000 euros per year.
Read also: World Cup 2023. Who are the young nuggets to follow during the Women’s World Cup
Present in the Forbes ranking, Ada Hegerberg emerges in 5th place in this ranking with around 420,000 euros per year. The difference between the figure of L’Équipe and Forbes can be explained by the amount received by the Norwegian in match bonuses, national selection or other endowments ancillary to the salary allocated by the club. If four players are ahead of the Ballon d’Or in 2018 in the French ranking, none of them appear in the Forbes ranking, again, because of the low media coverage of women’s football in France.
World Cup top 10:
1. Alex Morgan (USA – 6,4 millions euros/an)
2. Megan Rapinoe (USA – €5.6 million/year)
3. Alexia Putellas (ESP – 3.6 million euros/year)
4. Trinity Rodman (USA – 2 millions d’euros/an)
5. Crystal Dunn (USA – 1,8 million d’euros/an)
6. Julie Ertz (USA – 1,8 million d’euros/an)
7. Sophia Smith (USA – 1,8 million d’euros/an)
8. Lindsey Horan (USA – 1,3 million d’euros/an)
9. Rose Lavelle (USA – 1,2 million d’euros/an)
10. Sofia Huerta (USA – 1,1 million d’euros/an)
2023-07-29 02:27:51
#highest #paid #players #Womens #World #Cup #OuestFrance #evening #edition
