Meghan Duggan understood the risk. So did her 22 teammates on the United States women’s national hockey team. They put their careers on the line when they announced March 15 that they would boycott the coming world championship if U.S.A. Hockey, the sport’s national governing body, did not increase wages and support for the women.

Many players had no financial cushion to fall back on. Hockey as a full-time occupation produced barely enough to cover their basic needs, like rent. U.S.A. Hockey had shown little inclination to acquiesce to their demands for support equal to what the men’s national team received and for better youth development programs for girls.

That risk paid off on Tuesday when the women’s team reached an agreement with U.S.A. Hockey and ended the standoff. The four-year deal includes the formation of a Women’s High Performance Advisory Group to advance women’s and girls’ hockey at youth levels.

The deal provides the female players with travel and insurance provisions that equal what the men’s national team receives, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations who requested anonymity because the financial details of the contracts were not publicly disclosed. The women’s team will also receive a pool of prize money to be split each year. Each player will be guaranteed a $2,000 training stipend per month, year-round, from the United States Olympic Committee, and the players will receive larger performance bonuses for winning medals.