U.S. Soccer narrowed its coaching pay gap — then hired Mauricio Pochettino
According to U.S. Soccer's most recent tax filing, posted this week, Pochettino is making almost six times more than USWNT head coach Emma Hayes.
A few years ago, the U. S. Soccer Federation made a concerted effort to close the pay gap between the men’s and women’s national team coaches.
Though the global scales remain far apart, the women’s unprecedented success made the case for greater balance. Emma Hayes’ hiring before the 2024 Olympics fulfilled that goal, putting her in the neighborhood of Gregg Berhalter’s contract. But when Berhalter was fired that summer and the USSF urgently turned to a high-profile coach for the 2026 World Cup on home ground, the salary proportions reverted.
Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season According to the USSF’s most recent tax filing , posted this week, Pochettino is making almost six times more than Hayes. Because both were hired months into 2024, the tax data does not show their salaries. Annualized, though, the numbers come out to $6,040,600 in base salary for Pochettino and $1,116,835 for Hayes.
Pochettino, whose contract runs through this summer’s World Cup, is reportedly the third-highest paid men’s national team coach , behind England’s Thomas Tuchel and Brazil’s Carlo Ancelotti. Not all the money covering Pochettino’s salary is coming from the USSF’s coffers, however. Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin and other individuals and sponsors are helping bankroll the contract, though specific amounts have not been disclosed.