As she enters retirement, the USWNT superstar’s remarkable life on and off the field has left her with plenty of opportunities in her post-playing career.
Less than two weeks after helping lead the US Women’s National Team to the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, one of the greatest of all time is stepping aside. On Monday, two-time gold medalist and two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd announced her upcoming retirement from the game.
Lloyd will play in four USWNT international friendlies this fall and finish out the NWSL season with NJ/NY Gotham FC before hanging it up for good. And as she prepares to embark on her post-playing career, it’s beyond any doubt that she set herself up to remain around the game and within the national consciousness for years to come.
Celebrating Success
Lloyd is set to wrap her career as one of the most decorated women’s soccer players of all time. On the international stage, Lloyd is a four-time Olympian and not only has two gold medals, but she scored the winning goal in both the 2008 and 2012 finals.
She’s played for the national team since 2005, and in that time, has earned more than her fair share of accolades. Those include:
- 312 International caps (No. 2 in UWSNT history)
- 128 goals (No. 4)
- 64 assists (No. 5)
- USWNT captain (2016-20)
- Two-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, one of just two Americans to earn the honor twice)
- US Soccer Athlete of the Year (2008)
- CONCACAF Women’s Player of the Year (2008)
- First and only hat trick in a Women’s World Cup final (2015)
And that’s just internationally. In the NWSL, she’s a four-time Second XI selection and ranks sixth on the league’s all-time goal list.
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CL10 Off The Field
A native of Delran Township, New Jersey, Lloyd built up a reputation as a tireless worker. She was even seen running sprints after the USWNT’s loss to Canada in the Olympics to jump-start preparation for the bronze medal game, where she ultimately scored the final two goals of her Olympic career.
And over the past few years, Lloyd has shown that she goes just as hard in her business life, raising her profile far beyond her on-field achievements.
Her CL10 brand appears on all her merchandise — from branded soccer balls to hoodies and other apparel — as well as her signature soccer clinics in which she’s a consistently active participant.
Beyond her own brand, Lloyd has long been a prominent Nike athlete, playing a major role in their Soccer and Women‘s categories. Nike has honored her in the past with special-edition cleats, and produced videos and commercials around her training. Her other key sponsor and endorsement deals include Visa, Volkswagen, Heineken, Secret, CBDMEDIC, and MJM Insurance Group.
Lloyd is currently the highest-paid women’s footballer in the world, earning $518,000 per year as of 2019. That’s certainly nothing to sneeze at, but it’s merely a fraction of what her men’s counterparts earn, and Lloyd has been outspoken in the past about the push for equal pay in the sport alongside her USWNT teammates.
What’s Next
Lloyd, who turned 39 in July, released a statement on Monday officially stating her intentions to retire from the Beautiful Game, but didn’t drop much of a hint about what she may do next.
We do know, however, that she will continue her clinics, one of which is this week. Lloyd has also spoken in the past about her availability for speaking engagements. She has previously made appearances at Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Citi, and several colleges and universities.
“I will continue to support and cheer [the USWNT] on and continue to find ways to help grow the game and inspire the next generation,” she said in her statement.
For the moment, we may not know what Lloyd’s next major venture is going to look like — but don’t expect her to fade into the background. That’s not what legends do.
