Carli Lloyd knows that there’s still a bit of work to be done when it comes to the recent equal pay settlement between US Soccer and the USWNT. Speaking on the first episode of “Hope Solo Speaks,” a new podcast hosted by former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo, she addresses the contingency placed on the deal.

Lloyd said Wednesday that she doesn’t know how the current CBA negotiations are going, having been completely out of it since she retired from the USWNT in November. Calling it a “relief” to have certain aspects of the battle between the USWNT and U.S. Soccer settled, she still acknowledges that the fight is still not over. The two sides’ recent equal pay settlement agreement is contingent on USSF and the USWNTPA ratifying a new CBA.

“It’s also contingent on the men agreeing for the same deal that the women are gonna get,” she said. “So there’s a lot of variables.

“I would hope that U.S. Soccer would figure it out. To go down this route and leave the CBA hanging and not be in agreement with everything the players want would almost be going backwards.

“I think everybody’s feeling good about it right now. But there’s still a bit of work to do.”

There’s also work to ensure that the new CBA is an improvement from the old one, which both Lloyd and Solo agree was not a good deal.

“When we signed the latest CBA in 2017, you and I, we knew that it wasn’t a good deal,” Lloyd said. “We knew, and we expressed that. And you expressed that over and over again to everybody on the team, the way that they tiered the contracts, the amount of contracts. It looked like we were getting more of a guaranteed contract – which we were – but each year the contract numbers would decrease.”

According to Solo, the number of players who were under contract also decreased, which meant that they weren’t taking care of a larger pool of players.

“When I saw that contract after I was fired, I was in shock,” said Solo.

“The way that those contracts were structured out — how do you have less contracts in a World Cup and an Olympic year?” Lloyd added. “You have less contracts than the roster actually allows. The Olympics are 18, World Cups are 23, how did we go backwards? So some of those players that were on the World Cup team, the Olympic team, didn’t even have those guaranteed contracts.”

The 2017 CBA allowed the players’ association to control group likeness rights for licensing and non-exclusive sponsorships where USSF did not have sponsors. Additionally, there was an increase in direct compensation and bonus compensation, as well as enhanced travel, per diem and financial support for players looking to have children. At the time, players like Becky Sauerbrunn used the word equitable to describe the CBA, something that Solo called out on Wednesday.

“Everything we had been doing to fight — and then for the team to sign a less than equal contract and then use words like, ‘well it’s equitable,’” she said. “We were fighting for equal. Not something close but not equal.”

Two years after the CBA was ratified, the USWNT players filed their equal pay lawsuit, alleging gender discrimination by US Soccer.

Current CBA negotiations have been extended through at least March 31 after the previous agreement expired in 2021.

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

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As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

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How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

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The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."