Alex Morgan doesn’t like the word retirement. “I’ve been saying ‘post-playing career,’” she said, “because retirement makes it sound like I’m old. It’s definitely more of a transition.”
Morgan, 35, announced her retirement in September, along with the news that she’s pregnant with her second child. In her 15-year career, Morgan was prolific on the pitch, scoring 123 goals for the U.S. Women’s National Team (fifth-most all-time) and winning two World Cups, an Olympic gold medal, four Concacaf Player of the Year awards, and many more accolades along the way.
Perhaps more importantly, her career spanned a period of meteoric growth in women’s sports that saw breakthroughs in gender equality, with Morgan at the fore of some of the most crucial efforts. In 2016, she was part of a group of USWNT players who filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over inequality in pay and treatment in U.S. women’s soccer. In 2022, the results of that filing required men and women to be paid an equal rate for all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup. She also fought for anti-harassment policies in the National Women’s Soccer League, helping transform team-player relations for a league that eventually grew to set valuation and attendance records in 2024.
Morgan recently talked to Fast Company about her retirement—what it looks like for her, how she’s navigated the process, and how she’s continuing to support current and future generations of female athletes, on and off the pitch.
Fast Company: It’s been nearly four months since you announced your retirement. What has life been like, and what does “retirement” look like for you?
Alex Morgan: For me, it’s been about getting into venture capital—doing a lot more investing and building my personal portfolio. I’ve been doing that quietly for the last four or five years. I have about 15 companies that I’ve invested in spanning sports, health tech, and consumer goods. Now, I have my own fund alongside my husband, which has been really exciting, and it’s something that I’ve been able to dedicate a lot more time to.
FAST COMPANY: You mentioned you were investing in sports. As an investor, where do you see the most opportunity right now?
AM: I think we’re seeing an incredible opportunity in the WNBA and the NWSL. The valuations of these teams and leagues are continuing to increase. And we’re seeing it not only here, but in women’s sports overseas as well. So what excites me most about my next chapter is that even though I’m not able to be on the field, I’m able to uplift and support women’s sports leagues and teams around the world.
FAST COMPANY: You say you’re able to support women’s sports around the world. How so? What are you doing personally to support these teams and leagues in the U.S. and abroad?
AM: I think it’s an all-around approach. Through my media company, TOGETXER, we’re working to uplift these women and give them opportunities to share their stories, whether that’s through podcasts or short or long-form content. Then there’s the investing side and the mentorship and advising roles, which I’m still refining to figure out how I can have the biggest impact. I’m also continuing to support the NWSL and looking for ways to be most impactful, whether that’s with my former team, the San Diego Wave, or the league as a whole. I’ve been a big advocate of the NWSL, playing in every season since its inception in 2013.
FAST COMPANY: What’s it been like for you to witness the NWSL’s tremendous growth over the last 12 years?
AM: It’s incredible to witness, and to have been part of it. Things really started to turn when we forced the league to be more professional with their standards in 2020 and 2021, pushing the league to adopt anti-harassment policies and regulations that really, at their core, protected players. There was sometimes a power imbalance between coaches or higher-ups and the players, so we wanted players to feel safe and protected and to have control over where they wanted to go—what city and market they wanted to play in. We wanted them to feel like their contracts were safe for that year and that they couldn’t be waived tomorrow and have their contract cut and their [team-provided] housing taken away. I think professionalizing things like that took the league to a whole new level.
Now, with the return on investment being so much larger, we’re seeing all these owners and funds coming in that I never would have imagined—like Sixth Street [investing $125 million] with Bay FC and Bob Iger and Willow Bay with Angel City FC [valued at $250 million]. It’s incredible to see these people not only wanting a piece of the upside in women’s soccer but also believing in its trajectory. The players have put in so much to make this work, and seeing it actually successful now is really exciting—and validating.
FAST COMPANY: You say this is more of a transition than a “retirement.” Having navigated the process, what advice would you give someone who is going through a similar process of retirement or career transition?
AM: The biggest thing I’ve learned is that nothing is a steady incline. There were peaks and valleys in my soccer career, and I have them post-career. Getting into venture involves a lot of learning, difficult days, and questioning yourself. Then you get a small win and you celebrate that, and that gives you the motivation to do the next thing. So you celebrate the small wins when you can, but you keep pushing forward and stay on track.
The most important thing is dedicating yourself to what you’re putting your time and effort into and not giving up when things get hard, because they absolutely will.
FAST COMPANY: The landscape of women’s sports has changed drastically during your career. How do you think the conversation around mental health has changed?
AM: I think athletes want to feel supported. Period. I fought for pay equity, maternity leave, and support for moms as professional athletes. Those are specific needs. But taking care of your overall mental well-being is just as important.
Just look at what Powerade is doing now with The Athletes Code, announcing that they’re going to have it written into every athlete’s contract that they can pause their partnerships to prioritize their mental health—with continued pay and support, no questions asked. I think it’s extremely important in the landscape of professional sports. Because athletes do need that support. Every sport is as much mental as it is physical, and taking care of the mental side—even though you can’t see it—is just as important as the physical.
It’s something that I have absolutely needed to do in my career. When I came back after having my first child, it was really mentally draining—not getting a full night’s sleep and having a full-time job while playing for the National Team and Orlando and just trying to do it all at once. It was a lot. And I applaud Powerade for providing the kind of support athletes in those kinds of situations, and in general, require.
Having the ability to take a pause without retribution, without consequence, is extremely important because every athlete goes through periods where their sport becomes their identity—it’s how they’re validated in the community, how they value themselves or how others value them. That alone can be mentally draining. So I can see what Powerade is doing having a ripple effect in the sports community.
FAST COMPANY: Why is it especially important for female athletes to have this kind of support from their sponsors and partners?
AM: From my personal experience, soccer opens a lot of doors to these brand partnerships, but these partnerships actually account for more of my annual compensation than my sport alone. And I think that’s the case for a lot of female athletes and athletes who compete on the Olympic stage. A lot of their brand partnerships actually support them financially more than their sport can. So they disproportionately rely on their brand partners.
FAST COMPANY: So you think athletes have more support now than ever before?
AM: I think the evolution of everything outside of the physical aspect of sport has done a complete 180 from when I entered the game. And I think athletes perform at their best when they’re completely supported. That’s all athletes want. That involves pay equity. It involves accepting and embracing female athletes who want to become moms while staying at the top of their game. And it involves talking about mental health within sports.
I feel like we went through a dark time with athletes being vulnerable and then being shamed just because people couldn’t see their suffering. But I think we’re in a good place now, and I’m really proud of the work that I’ve put in—the work that a lot of my teammates and other athletes have put in, and now the work that the brands are putting in—to change that.
To see that now after playing professionally for 15 years, it feels good to be able to leave the sport—at least in a playing sense—knowing that not only do I walk away as a world champion and an Olympic champion, but I walk away actually leaving the sport better, and having athletes come into the sport where they feel supported enough to just play and be the best at it. That’s the best feeling for me.
