U.S. Soccer has hired two lobbying firms to argue the USWNT hasn't been underpaid, but the claims need context and explanation. (Getty)

In a move that is sure to ratchet up tension between the United States women's national team and its employer, the U.S. Soccer Federation has hired lobbyists to essentially discredit ongoing concerns raised by the players.

A slideshow presentation given to lawmakers by U.S. Soccer's lobbyists, first reported Wednesday by Politico, piggybacks on a letter that U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro issued to the media last week claiming the women are actually paid more than the men. But again, it's missing some crucial context and will hardly settle the debate.

While U.S. Soccer and its lobbyists raise some valid points as the federation is under pressure from Congress, their presentation also oversimplifies and misrepresents others, which is sure to only anger the USWNT as both sides are supposedly working toward mediation of the wage discrimination lawsuit the players filed earlier this year.

This sharp change in tone from U.S. Soccer in response to the “equal pay” motto that has been spreading since the Women's World Cup is hardly surprising – the federation was getting crushed in the public discourse.

In many cases, the claims levied against U.S. Soccer have been outright false, and the federation has been very unfairly painted as a misogynistic organization. After all, U.S. Soccer has invested more in its women's team than any other country in the world, and it has the trophies and prestige to go along with it.

But this new, more combative approach from U.S. Soccer is a bit dissonant as the federation has said it wants to take the USWNT's lawsuit to mediation.

If U.S. Soccer believes the women are compensated better than the men, as they've laid out, it raises the question as to why the federation would agree to mediation at all – wouldn't they easily win in court? U.S. Soccer doesn't necessarily do itself any favors with the USWNT for the way it has presented some of the relevant information in this new public campaign.

Here is a breakdown of the slideshow presentation's chart obtained by Politico, with some important context that U.S. Soccer left out:

Claim 1: The base compensation model

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While it is true that salaries are made available to the women while the men do not get salaries, it's not that simple.

First, what U.S. Soccer's lobbyists decline to state is that not all the women are entitled to salaries. In the team's current CBA – which is not public but details have been reported elsewhere – only 18 players are guaranteed $100,000 salaries. That number will drop every year. The rest of players in the USWNT pool are only compensated through game appearance fees.

Second, there is guaranteed compensation available to the men. It just comes in the form of appearance fees rather than salaries. While it is not guaranteed to any specific man because players need to earn call-ups to receive the compensation, there is a set amount of money the federation is giving to the men's team as a whole, just as is the case with the women's team.

Claim 2: NWSL salaries

(U.S. Soccer/Politico) More

The federation's lobbyists raise the salaries that USWNT players earn for playing in the National Women's Soccer League as part of a comparison against the men's team.

Twenty-two women do earn between $67,500 and $72,500 per year to play for their NWSL clubs, and that is money the federation has invested in the players. But it is also a separate job and not directly part of a USWNT player's national team duties. Wouldn't anyone be entitled to more compensation if they worked a second job for an employer?

While U.S. Soccer is right to point out its investment in the NWSL, which has been important for advancing women's soccer, it may not be apples-to-apples for U.S. Soccer to use those dollars amounts in discussing compensation for national team duties.

Additionally, the federation points out that it does not offer compensation for USMNT players for competing in Major League Soccer. That's true, but worthy of context.

First, U.S. Soccer's mission is to grow the sport of soccer in the United States, and the infrastructure in women's soccer has lagged, in part, because soccer was banned in many countries around the world until the late 1970s. Historically, it has been more difficult for female players to earn a living from club soccer. The opportunities in men's soccer, however, are plentiful now so U.S. Soccer would not need to step in and ensure its male players can play professionally.