pressure from u.s. women's soccer players. >> it is really what we set out to do, equalize on all fronts. >> reporter: in a landmark agreement, u.s. soccer pledging to pay the women's and men's team an equal rate, while handing over $22 million to athletes in backpay and another in $2 million for post-career endeavors and charitable efforts. the deal settling 28 players' gender discrimination lawsuit, as long as the team's next contract is ratified. >> we not only right the wrongs of the past but set the next generation up for something that we can only have dreamed of. >> reporter: the gender wage gap, a point of contention across the country, where the average woman ends 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. the difference larger in sports. male athletes are paid from 15% to 100% more than their female counterparts. the players and federation admit getting to this day has not been easy. megan rapinoe amongst the first to file a complaint in 2016. efforts escalated after winning their fourth world cup three years later, filing a lawsuit. >> tv ratings are there. the revenue is there. the support is there.