“I don’t get paid what Jürgen Klopp gets paid for me to take a sabbatical year,” Emma Hayes once said, subtly highlighting the persistent pay gap between the men’s and women’s games. Mind you, this comes from the very manager who, after a 12-year stint at Chelsea and 16 trophies, is now leading the USWNT — a team that famously fought for equal pay. Boy, the irony is hard to ignore. If this is the situation at the international level, one can only imagine what it’s like for the average NWSL player. Well, Meredith Speck is here to break the ice!
After enjoying a year-long stint with Swedish side Västerås BK30, the veteran midfielder has been part of American women’s domestic soccer for four years since its debut in 2012. She initially played for the Western New York Flash for a season before finally joining the North Carolina Courage a year later in 2017. So, it’s safe to say the 32-year-old has seen both the ups and downs of the league.
This also raises the question: Even though player salaries have increased thanks to various initiatives, is there still a financial burden on the average NWSL player? The response might surprise you. “I would assume, yes,” began Speck while speaking on The Women’s Game podcast with co-host and former Courage teammate Sam Mewis.
“I make more than the average NWSL player now. Yes, I do think they’re trying to support the rookies or the younger players. But there, the minimum needs to go up…” added the Rockville Centre, New York native before clarifying it wasn’t a subtle “hot take” against the league’s stakeholder whatsoever. Well, at least Mewis understood her former teammate, clarifying it’s rather a message to the NWSL representatives.
Just like they continue to push to improve the top bar, the concerned authorities should also ensure that the bottom continues to rise at a high rate. Not to mention how desperate the NWSL has always been to take the global top spot. Yet, many players aren’t saving money, let alone living a lifestyle that many end up assuming a typical athlete lives.
“If I told someone, ‘Oh, I’ve played professional soccer for 10 years. They’d be like, ‘Oh, you’re rich. And I’m like, ‘Well, I wish,’” Meredith added, before concluding with some optimism, saying, “But maybe the people starting now in 10 years will be able to say that. And yeah, that’s the hope.”
Shocking isn’t it? But what if we were to tell you that it doesn’t sound surprising to us at all? In fact, there have been subtle signs in the past regarding this issue. To begin with, many have called out the salary cap as one of the reasons that has been limiting the growth of the NWSL. No wonder you may have come across many big names like Naomi Girma, Kerolin, Crystal Dunn, and Jenna Nighswonger quitting the American dream and rather fancy a move to Europe.
Recently, rumors of Trinity Rodman leaving NWSL also came to light, which one time, saw Sam Mewis comment, “Just pay Trinity Rodman $5 million and she‘ll stay,” during one of her podcast segments. Meanwhile, Tobin Heath once slammed the exit of Girma on her own co-hosted show, RE—INC podcast, stating, “You know what you do to keep Naomi Girma? You pay her.”
Boy is it hard to imagine now what would the situation be for players who are just starting in the NWSL. Either way, it’s clear that the problem exists. No wonder it almost makes Meredith Speck feel left out among her friends!
NWSL salaries gave impostor syndrome to players!
Believe it or not, there exists a certain pressure in soccer players’ lives that often goes unnoticed. One of them is, surprisingly, the feeling of being left behind as friends outside the sport move forward in their careers. This led Sam Mewis to ask Meredith Speck whether she ever feels the burden of keeping up with those around her who have “real” jobs and more traditional lifestyles — and if that pressure ever pushes her to consider life beyond soccer.
Unfortunately, when you are making the average NWSL salary, forget about making investments, you can’t even save money — something that hit Meredith quite hard at one point. “At the time, I was looking at my friends from home or the people I went to school with and I was like ‘Wow like their lifestyle is far and away different than mine,’” she said in a similar segment — a sentiment that even Mewis also gave a big nod to.
Then again, Meredith insisted such signs of inferiority complex didn’t last long. The former Yale Bulldogs star highlighted the growth of the league, insisting things did improve at a certain level. “But I do think with the growth of the league now, I feel less pressure,” Speck added.
The NC Courage veteran insisted that the constant thought of whether she would ever be making more money or be more successful at a regular job somehow went away. “I don’t feel as left behind now, which is a really great feeling,” concluded Meredith.
It’s good to hear that Meredith Speck doesn’t overthink such things. And even if she did, there’s hardly anything to be ashamed of — it’s only natural for a human being to experience such feelings. That said, the key takeaway is that despite the major developments in the NWSL, slight financial shortcomings still remain when it comes to player salaries. Either way, here’s hoping that changes moving forward.
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