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Jeff Carlisle, US Soccer Correspondent
This summer’s Copa America will distribute a record $72 million in entry fees and prize money to participating teams, with $16 million going to the winner, sources told ESPN.
Each team will be paid a $2 million entry fee, with the remaining $40 million going towards prize money — more than double the $19.5 million awarded in 2021, when winners Argentina took home $6.5 million.
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The tournament is co-hosted by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football Associations (CONCACAF).
This will be the second time the United States has hosted the expanded Copa America, having previously hosted the tournament in 2016, when the total prize money was $21.5 million, of which $6.5 million went to the winners, Chile.
Each quarterfinalist will receive $2 million in prize money, the fourth-place team will receive $4 million, the third-place team will receive $5 million, and the losing finalist will receive $7 million. The tournament will also cover the teams’ hotel, airfare, and ground transportation expenses.
The amount of prize money is a big motivator for the participating players beyond the honor of playing in such a prestigious tournament. This is especially true for the players from the United States. With the latest collective bargaining agreement signed for 2022, the US players will earn 70% of the prize money awarded.
Nine percent of any prize money won by the United States will be put into a joint fund to be divided equally between players on the U.S. Men’s National Team and U.S. Women’s National Team, with the remaining 21 percent going to the U.S. Soccer Federation.
