The Rush: Abby Wambach on getting richer in retirement, concussions and being forgotten
Soccer legend Abby Wambach is on The Rush, revealing that she’s made more money in five years of retirement than during her 15-year pro career, how she aims to help the next generation of female athletes as a co-owner of Angel City FC, what she’s doing to find a treatment for concussions, how it feels to go from being famous to forgotten, her new-yet-familiar Gatorade commercial co-starring Usain Bolt and more!
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED QUAY: When I scored that goal-- that late goal in 2011, I-- I mean, everything kind of went black.
JARED QUAY: [LAUGHS]
ABBY WAMBACH: Like, I don't really have a recollection in those first few seconds after the goal went in because there was so much excitement--
[CHEERING]
--that it was like-- humans, I don't think, can process that as quickly as you'd think.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JARED QUAY: What's up, everybody? I'm here with World Cup champion, author, and activist Abby Wambach. How are you doing today, Abby?
ABBY WAMBACH: What's up, man? How's it going, Jared? What's going on?
JARED QUAY: I'm doing good. You're one of the founding members and investors in the women's soccer club Angel City FC, which is slated to start in 2022. And I want to know what updates have we got for the team in how it's coming along?
ABBY WAMBACH: For so many of us, myself included, we operated inside of systems that were built for women by men. And so it wasn't always really right. And I think, from the ground up, the capabilities that this team is going to have-- because we're asking the really hard questions from the beginning, we are sharing every bit of our experience to find the sporting director, find the manager, um, create the culture. It's been a dream come true. I mean, I can't believe that this is my life, honestly.
JARED QUAY: One of your priorities with Angel City is to create a solid retirement package for the players. From that, I want to know, how are you enjoying the retired life?
ABBY WAMBACH: Yeah. Well, first of all, I'm enjoying the retired life because I think one of the bonuses of having had the career that I had-- it gave me a platform to become a public speaker. That's what earns me a paycheck at the end of every month. Not many people know this. It's not-- this is not something that I publicize all the time. But I've made-- I don't know-- three to four times as much money as a public speaker in five years than I did as a women's professional soccer player in 15.
JARED QUAY: As one of the GOATs too. So that's, like, tough.
ABBY WAMBACH: I mean--
JARED QUAY: [LAUGHS]
ABBY WAMBACH: And that's the thing-- a lot of people get it wrong at how much money a women athlete-- well, at least when I was playing, they-- they just assume, oh, they're in the Olympics, they must be millionaires. And it's just not that-- it's just not true.
And as it relates to-- to what I hope to bring to the NWSL and all women leagues is secure retirement. You know, that, for me, is everything. You're not going to be an athlete-- I know you might think that you're going to be an athlete forever-- at least a pro athlete. But you won't.
It will end. And you will have to figure out, like, health care. And you're going to have to figure out retirement. And you're going to have to figure out, wait, I've been knocking my head against this ball for a lot of years. Like, what's this going to look like in-- in my 60s? Like, these are things that I want to make sure that are talked about and planned for with women athletes. Because, you know, women retire with far less than men.
JARED QUAY: You spoke about, like, obviously the head injuries that you can get. After all those years of playing, are you, like-- are you healthy?
ABBY WAMBACH: I'm a little bit nervous about what, you know, my 60s might look like. I did a lot of heading with the soccer ball-- a lot. Um, I'm donating my brain to science.
I've also partnered with, um, a pharmaceutical company. Essentially, they've created a-- a treatment for concussions. It's something that would be nasal, that would be applied right on the field within five minutes. And, you know, it's the inflammation that does all the damage. So I'm just-- I'm proud to be a part of trying to proactively treat certain things. Because, I mean, what's done for my brain is done. I'm just, like, crossing my fingers and trying to keep my kids and all kids in the world protected.
JARED QUAY: One of the things that you're doing post-career is you're making really cool commercials with Gatorade, I hear. So can you tell us a little bit more about the Gatorade spot you have?
ABBY WAMBACH: Yeah, man. OK. So Gatorade called a couple of months ago. And they-- they pitched this idea of me and Usain Bolt to kind of remake the Michael Jordan-Mia Hamm commercial of old-- and "anything you can do, I can do better."
[MUSIC - IRVING BERLIN, "ANYTHING YOU CAN DO (I CAN DO BETTER)"]
Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you. No, you can't. Yes, I can. No, you can't. Yes, I can.
ABBY WAMBACH: That commercial had a huge impact on my life personally. And so, you know, when Gatorade calls and they're like, oh, yeah, also Usain Bolt's going to be in it. So I don't know if that matters. Then I'm like, uh, yes, please, let's go.
JARED QUAY: [LAUGHS]
ABBY WAMBACH: We've got to go.
JARED QUAY: One of your iconic, uh, commercials was the "forgive me" one. And that's about progress.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING]
ABBY WAMBACH (VOICEOVER): I want to leave a legacy where the ball keeps rolling forward, where the next generation accomplishes things so great that I am no longer remembered.
ABBY WAMBACH: Literally three years later, I was at my daughter's soccer game. And one of her teammates-- I was saying to her, like, oh, when I retired-- she's like, oh, what-- this little kid. What did you retire from? And I was like--
JARED QUAY: [LAUGHS]
ABBY WAMBACH: --soccer. And she was like, oh, who did you play for? And I was like, the United States of America. And she goes, oh, so do you know Alex Morgan? And I was like, OK.
JARED QUAY: [LAUGHS]
ABBY WAMBACH: Thank you, Gatorade. Gatorade ruined it. My legacy is ruined. Nobody actually remembers me. I gave them permission to forget, and they forgot.
JARED QUAY: Out of all the places that you've been, who loves soccer the most? Who's the biggest fans?
ABBY WAMBACH: As a national team player, anywhere you travel outside the US, like, you're inherently-- they're now an opponent. And so nobody's really ever cheering for you.
JARED QUAY: [LAUGHS] You getting the boos? Are they booing you?
ABBY WAMBACH: Oh, yeah. I mean, boos like you wouldn't believe.
JARED QUAY: What are the roars like when you go to a place like the World Cup?
ABBY WAMBACH: It's, like, unworldly and kind of like very-- just in terms of spiritually speaking, it's just very weird to have 100,000 people or millions of people literally in that moment cheering for you or your team. Like, it's so bizarre. Like, it's just mind-boggling to me. I don't know.
JARED QUAY: All right. Well, thank you, Abby, for rushing with me. I appreciate it.
ABBY WAMBACH: Thanks for having me.