Emma Hayes, coach of the US women’s team, avoided answering whether she should receive a salary increase if a high-profile figure like Jürgen Klopp were to replace Gregg Berhalter as coach of the American men’s team.
Berhalter’s contract runs until the 2026 World Cup. Matt Crocker, the sporting director of the US Soccer Federation, has not addressed Berhalter’s status with the media since the team’s elimination in the Copa America last week.
“My focus right now is on preparing our team for our upcoming training camp. I need to concentrate on performing well with this team, especially with the Olympics approaching,” Hayes stated during a press conference on Monday alongside U.S. men’s Olympic coach Marko Mitrović.
“Regarding matters concerning the men’s team and gender equality, those are not issues for me to address at this moment. My absolute focus is on our preparations this week.”
Hayes, who was named FIFA’s Best Women’s Coach in 2021, previously coached Chelsea’s women’s team from 2012 to 2024 before joining the US team this year.
According to the USSF’s 2022 tax filing, Berhalter earned $2,291,136 in 2022, which included $900,000 in bonuses for the team’s World Cup qualification and reaching the second round.
Hayes’ predecessor as US women’s coach, Vlatko Andonovski, had a base salary of $396,089 in 2022 and earned $15,000 in bonuses. Andonovski resigned last August after the team was eliminated in the second round of the Women’s World Cup.
When Hayes was hired in November, the USSF stated that she would become “the highest paid women’s soccer coach in the world.” Typically, coach salaries are disclosed by the USSF when it releases its tax return each February for the fiscal year ending the prior March 31st.
