Here are the highest-paid players at the Women World Cup currently taking place in Australia and New Zealand.
#1 • $7.1 million
Alex Morgan
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $6.3 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Forward | Age: 34
Co-captain of the USWNT at the 2023 World Cup, Morgan has a valuable endorsement portfolio that includes Hublot, Cola-Cola’s Bodyarmor and Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra, which featured her in a Super Bowl commercial alongside other celebrities, including Serena Williams and Succession star Brian Cox. The San Diego Wave striker is also a cofounder of media company Togethxr, which is producing a Netflix docuseries on America’s latest World Cup run that is set to launch in the fall. And she is bolstering her philanthropic efforts with a foundation launched in March.
#2 • $7 million
Megan Rapinoe
On-Field Earnings: $0.7 million | Off-Field Earnings: $6.3 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Forward | Age: 38
What a year it has already been for Rapinoe. Last July, she became the first soccer player—and just the sixth female athlete or coach—to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, honoring her advocacy work for LGBTQ rights and equal pay for women as well as her on-field accomplishments. A month later, the OL Reign winger took an equity stake in Venus Williams’ plant-based food startup, Happy Viking, and in December she launched a production company called A Touch More along with her partner, WNBA legend Sue Bird. And as she headed into what she has said will be her final World Cup, Rapinoe had the most branded social media posts of any women’s soccer player, according to a new report from SponsorUnited.
#3 • $4 million
Alexia Putellas
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $3.2 million
Nationality: Spain | Position: Midfielder | Age: 29
The winner of the 2021 and 2022 Ballon d’Or Féminin as the world’s best women’s soccer player, Putellas has three million followers on Instagram and ranked as the sport’s second-most-influential player on the app in a recent Nielsen report, trailing only Switzerland’s Alisha Lehmann. The FC Barcelona midfielder, who tore her ACL last July but returned to action in April, has a dozen long-term endorsement deals and was the subject of an Amazon Prime Video docuseries released in November 2022.
#4 • $2.3 million
Trinity Rodman
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $1.5 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Forward | Age: 21
The famous surname certainly doesn’t hurt Rodman’s marketability—she is the daughter of Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman—but the USWNT forward is making plenty of opportunities for herself as one of the sport’s most exciting young players. After winning the NWSL’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2021, she signed a four-year, $1.1 million extension with the Washington Spirit—the biggest deal in league history—and she has long-term partnerships with a half-dozen brands, including Adidas and Unilever.
#5 (tie) • $2 million
Crystal Dunn
On-Field Earnings: $0.7 million | Off-Field Earnings: $1.3 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Defender | Age: 31
Dunn is known as the most versatile player in women’s soccer, lining up as a midfielder for the Portland Thorns and typically as a left back for the U.S. national team. She missed most of the 2022 season after giving birth to a son, but she is back in peak form this year, being selected for the NWSL’s “team of the month” for April and May. She also has long-term sponsorship deals with Nike, Frito-Lay, Mastercard and Therabody.
#5 (tie) • $2 million
Julie Ertz
On-Field Earnings: $0.7 million | Off-Field Earnings: $1.3 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Midfielder | Age: 31
Ertz, who is married to Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz, gave birth to a son in August and returned to competition with Angel City FC in April. She is back with the USWNT for the first time since the 2021 Olympics and is a key defensive presence in the midfield. She also has deals with eight brands, including Subway, LaCroix and Spotify.
#5 (tie) • $2 million
Sophia Smith
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $1.2 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Forward | Age: 22
Smith won the 2022 NWSL championship with the Portland Thorns and was named the league’s MVP, and she is off to a similarly spectacular start in 2023, with ten goals in 13 league appearances. Smith is also becoming an influencer for brands like Ally Financial and BioSteel, climbing to 161,000 followers on Instagram and more than doubling her social media following over the last year, according to the new SponsorUnited report. Smith will turn 23 during the World Cup’s Round of 16, on August 10.
#8 • $1.5 million
Lindsey Horan
On-Field Earnings: $0.9 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.6 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Midfielder | Age: 29
Of the 23 members of America’s World Cup team, Horan is the only one playing club soccer outside the NWSL. She spent 2022 on loan to France’s Olympique Lyonnais Féminin and signed a permanent contract with the team this summer. Away from the field, she endorses eight brands, including Cheribundi cherry juice and Microsoft’s Xbox.
#9 • $1.4 million
Rose Lavelle
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.6 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Midfielder | Age: 28
Injuries have limited Lavelle in recent years, including a knee injury this spring that at one point seemed to threaten her availability for the World Cup, but there is no arguing with her talent when she’s healthy. The OL Reign midfielder endorses Nike, Icy Hot and Chipotle.
#10 • $1.3 million
Sofia Huerta
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.5 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Defender | Age: 30
A right back for OL Reign, Huerta makes the list even though brands typically prefer to partner with attacking players, who are seen as more likely to produce a highlight play. (Besides Huerta, only four other players in the earnings ranking are defensively minded: midfielder Julie Ertz, defenders Crystal Dunn and Kelley O’Hara, and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher—and Dunn is an attacking midfielder in club competition.) Huerta previously represented Mexico in international competition, switching to the U.S. in 2017, and has partnerships with Mexican-American brands De La Viuda Hot Sauce and Siete Foods, as well as five other sponsors.
#11 (tie) • $1.2 million
Ada Hegerberg
On-Field Earnings: $0.6 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.6 million
Nationality: Norway | Position: Forward | Age: 28
Hegerberg was the first-ever recipient of the Ballon d’Or Féminin, in 2018, but a torn ACL in January 2020 ended up sidelining the Olympique Lyonnais Féminin striker for 21 months. She also spent five years away from Norway’s national team in protest over the way the country’s players were compensated. Hegerberg returned to international competition last year, though, and is excelling on and off the field, with Nike, Hublot and Danone among her partners.
#11 (tie) • $1.2 million
Chloe Kelly
On-Field Earnings: $0.4 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.8 million
Nationality: England | Position: Forward | Age: 25
Kelly reached a new level of fame last year when she came off the bench as an injury replacement in the UEFA Women’s Euro final and scored the winning goal, giving the English women their first major trophy. The Manchester City forward is also featured in a new Calvin Klein campaign alongside Alex Morgan.
#11 (tie) • $1.2 million
Sam Kerr
On-Field Earnings: $0.6 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.6 million
Nationality: Australia | Position: Forward | Age: 29
A calf injury sustained just before the tournament will keep Kerr out of at least two games at Australia’s home World Cup, but she still helped inspire the Matildas to a win over Ireland in their opener on July 20. The Chelsea forward was one of four players depicted (alongside Megan Rapinoe) in a soccer-themed LEGO set and ad campaign that launched in May.
#11 (tie) • $1.2 million
Kelley O’Hara
On-Field Earnings: $0.7 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.5 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Defender | Age: 34
Like some of her USWNT teammates, O’Hara has dealt with injuries in recent years, and she will turn 35 on August 4. But when coach Vlatko Andonovski called her to say she had been selected for the World Cup roster, he told her, “There is no player in the world that can match Kelley O’Hara’s mentality, especially in big tournaments.” O’Hara, who left the Washington Spirit to sign with Gotham FC in January, will be playing at her fourth World Cup alongside Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.
#15 • $1.1 million
Alyssa Naeher
On-Field Earnings: $0.8 million | Off-Field Earnings: $0.3 million
Nationality: U.S. | Position: Goalkeeper | Age: 35
Rarely in women’s soccer do goalkeepers get much attention from marketers, but Naeher figures to get plenty of TV time this summer in her second World Cup as the U.S. starter. The Chicago Red Stars keeper works with Nike, Coca-Cola, Synchrony Bank and Upper Deck.
Culled From Forbes.Com
