Economy, Not Misogyny, Drives Unequal Pay in Sports This was a stellar season, where the final eight teams that made the playoffs werent determined until the last few games. If the WNBA Players Association wants to opt out of its current collective bargaining agreement with the league and renegotiate terms, they have to do so by Oct. 31. But in a sense, it doesnt matter. The Gender Wage Gap in Basketball is Bigger than Ever Iowa's transfer portal options? Van Lith to LSU?: Women's college The number of major league pitches clocked at 100 mph and faster more than tripled over three years, from 1,056 in 2019 to 3,348 last year. Shortly afterward, the players opted out of their CBA. Which is kind of unbelievable, as WNBA All-Star point guard for the Dallas Wings, Skylar Diggins-Smith, : Before we even talk about base salary or anything like that, we dont even get paid the same percentage of the revenue that we bring in., its not clear what the WNBAs exact revenue is, or individual teams, or their profits. "The NWSL has the opportunity to be the best league in the world," says Becca Roux, executive director of the U.S. Women's National Team Players Association. So, if the output of basketball is points, then the pay disparity between male and female players begins to make more sense. WNT members wore their jerseys inside out in protest. And no one wants to see the WNBA die, least of all the players., The WNBA will suffer if they dont figure out some way to pay players more. To assess the new landscape and figure out just how it's changing, we talked with athletes and their advocates and opponents, and scoured academic research, court papers and financial documents across women's sports. The fact that NBA players get a much larger piece of the revenue pie does seem to say something about how each respective league values its players. Jackson, whose husband and son are both NBA veterans, kept asking, "What motivates you?" Why do so many WNBA stars play basketball overseas? - AS USA - Diario AS Just as the Bangladeshis arent poor because they are lazy, Americans arent rich because of hard work. He covers an array of topics including NFL, Pop Culture, Fishing News, and the Outdoors. Which leads us here: The average NBA salary is about $7.5 million; according to the league, the average WNBA salary in 2019 was reportedly about $116,000, but a new collective bargaining agreement which runs from 2020 to 2027 provides a 53% pay increase, plus maternity leave at full salary, $5,000 for child care, and as much as $60,000 for Athletes were traveling by cramped coach flights, sometimes by bus, and staying in shared hotel rooms and dormitory-style housing. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. As Gulati put it: "I believed that the MNT's participation and success in their tournament would result in the receipt of substantially more prize money from FIFA than the WNT's participation and success in their tournament. Under the old CBA, athletes who had children lost pay when they lost work time; now they will have maternity leave with full compensation, plus space set aside in arenas for nursing. And when LeBron James steps onto the court, it generates far more revenue for the Heat, Cavaliers, or Lakers than it does for the Lynx when Maya Moore does so. She told the reporter that she wants there to be something for future generations to aspire to. "But we need investors with the mindset that there's tons of value here that hasn't been shown before who will go unlock it. Cass Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of BroBible. For picks No. wells city council election results 2022. ford city mall shooting today. With Jones paid to be the franchise quarterback, there should be stability at the position to build around. She also said it would be a letdown of all the work the founders of the league put into it if the current players decided to forgo the league for increased earnings.. But interest is also clearly driven by media: If a network highly values a property, itll market and promote it as a way to build an audience. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. NOW WATCH: 11 barbers who do more than just a standard cut, Visit Insider's homepage for more stories, Sue Bird said her legacy is 'already written' and described her last 2 WNBA championships as bonuses because she's playing 'on borrowed time', How the masterminds behind the WNBA's bubble successfully avoided an outbreak in the heart of a COVID-19 hotspot, Russell Wilson said he felt 'like Sue Bird in the clutch' after a brilliant performance, and the WNBA legend explained why that's important, WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart crashed Sue Bird's press conference in a hilarious, booze-filled, post-championship exchange, Sue Bird clarified that she doesn't think WNBA players "should get the same money as NBA players" in an interview with Adam Ray on his "About Last Night Podcast. It would seriously impair our ability to support our mission and invest in these other critical developmental areas.". And make no mistake, fans today have more access than ever to the games played by female athletes, because a burgeoning number of networks and apps, hungry to acquire and offer new content, are programming all kinds of formerly "niche" sports. Furthermore, two years earlier, the league studied its fan base and discovered that 25 percent of WNBA fans identified as lesbian. First, investment. Do you really compare yourself to the NBA?' Just one woman was ranked among the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world in 2019, according to Forbes (Serena Williams, at No. The WNBAs growing popularity has made pay equity a hot topic in the sport, and over the course of this season, several players have drawn attention to the issue. And over the next two, it has plans to spend down its surplus, which swelled to more than $160 million after the Copa America in 2016, to about $50 million. The WNBA players clearly are not getting that much. The two sides channeled that willingness into the areas Engelbert and the league's negotiators discussed with Jackson, Ogwumike and the players, and reached an eight-year agreement in January. Sabreena is an alum of Duke University, where she wrote for the . Cook found that under the men's wage scales, members of the women's team would have earned $91.8 million from 2014 to 2019. But when it comes to getting the kind of daily, comprehensive news, analysis and statistics that multiple media outlets and platforms routinely provide for men's teams, most women's sports still lag. While the NBA pays its players roughly 50 percent of the total, the WNBA players are making less than 25 percent of league revenue. It has lost the support of the men's national team, which has accused U.S. Soccer of "working very hard to sell a false narrative" and called for a sharp increase in women's compensation. But the incredible rise in living standards which we have seen since the Industrial Revolution has not been the result of working harder. Piece together all of these revelations about how the highest level of women's soccer has been functioning and you'll notice a new horizon is looming for the sport. The WNBA's current collective bargaining agreement won't expire until October 2021, with the maximum salary paid to WNBA veterans set to increase $8,000 - from $113,500 to $121,500 - by that. On the other hand, sports news and highlight segments have historically focused overwhelmingly on men. That's the approach taken by Finnie Bevin Cook, an economist who compiled a report for the plaintiffs in the equal pay lawsuit. Just five WNBA teams were playing in NBA arenas, with two others at college campuses, two at casinos, two in G League gyms and the New York Liberty shunted to a 5,000-seat facility in Westchester County, 30 miles from Manhattan. By clicking Sign Up, you also agree to marketing emails from both Insider and Morning Brew; and you accept Insiders. Silver was ready to hear about investment and commitment and even empowerment. The NBA, which partially owns the WNBA, needs to dedicate more time and money to their female players so they dont have to forgo an offseason and play overseas to support themselves. This pay gap is very real. But in 2007, a furniture-store owner named Hilton Koch bought the club for $10 million, then couldn't pay its bills, and the team was disbanded the following year.) And I dont want to lose the WNBA or miss out on seeing the best female basketball players playing in the league. The State . And so these women are playing year-round, which is terrible for your body. Its been five years since I first wrote about how the NBAs management of the WNBA is a circular problem, and while the WNBA has benefitted from some increased visibility since then, the issue of equal pay still looms large. Indeed, the $30 million awarded to all of the athletes combined at the 2019 Women's World Cup would not even equal the $38 million the French national team made after winning the 2018 men's World Cup, where prize money totaled $400 million. To grow the WNBA, he and the owners were prepared to, as he put it, "double down." WNBA Star Argues Why Players Deserve To Be Paid More Like The NBA A post shared by Kelsey Plum (@kelseyplum10). It also includes corporate sponsorship. Basically, they want a fair share of the total revenue of the WNBA. Considering the widespread acceptance of something like Engels formula, to say that a hard days work doesnt guarantee a fair days pay is one of the more shocking things an economist can say in polite company. But because the WNBA has a strict salary cap that . Any sport needs three kinds of support to grow into a large-scale, sustainable business. The more exposure they receive, the more theyll dole out the cash for sponsorships, endorsements and advertisements. Last year, Minnesota Lynxs Seimone Augustus told The Undefeated that the reasons players continue in the league is for history and for the future. Let's delve into the reasons. WNBA Journey to Equal Pay - Civic Issues - sites.psu.edu When Carlos Cordeiro, then president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, began speaking in front of City Hall, shouts drowned him out: At that time, U.S. Soccer was already battling the women's national team in court, after all 28 members sued their national federation in March 2019 for "purposeful gender discrimination." So female basketball players work just as hard as male basketball players, yet even the best WNBA players are paid much less than the mediocre and below average NBA ones. Meanwhile, the organization's financial reports projected just $131 million in total revenue from the 2019 Women's World Cup, a number that spread like wildfire among outlets last summer. Pay disparity between NBA, WNBA is a numbers game Why WNBA players are not paid as much as NBA players? Meanwhile, Steph Curry, the highest-paid player in the NBA, will make $45.7 million this season. Sue Bird is one of the greatest players in WNBA history, but that doesn't mean she thinks she and her colleagues in the W should be paid the same as their male counterparts. Of course, the sports world is bigger and more lucrative today. And shes not arguing they deserve NBA-sized salaries. As fans, we deserve to see them playing at their highest level after a restful off-season. why wnba players should be paid more - eruditeworks.com The WNBA has been demanding justice for Black lives. Why hasn't anyone We had incredibly thrilling semifinals series that went a full five games apiece. why wnba players should be paid more - mpv.aap.org.pe But in stark contrast the highest-paid WNBA players in 2022Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewarteach earned . Total revenue for the NBA hit $7.4 billion in 2022. The highest-paid players in the WNBA make less than 14 percent of that. This is not what happens as women basketball players would be payed on average around 3.5 million (the average men's salary is 7 million). Marketing researchers have discovered that consumers respond more favorably to marketing initiatives that cater to their identities. And we need access to better stadiums, facilities and everything that makes a better entertainment product.". But using league revenue, economics professor Dave Berri was recently able to calculate a significant gender wage gap in another respect. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Male vs Female Professional Sports Salary Comparison Last year, Delanie Gourley, a star pitcher in National Pro Fastpitch softball, disclosed that she makes less than a Yankees bat boy. "When I think of pay equity, I think of the opportunity that the NBA and other male sports leagues have to be successful.". The success of this campaign resulted in the WNBA being the first pro league to take part in the NYC Pride Parade in 2016. You have permission to edit this article. Bangladeshis, on average, work very hard but lack the institutions and the capital to be productive, As a result, they produce very little output and so, despite their intensive physical efforts, they remain poor. He certainly was right about that. Why do WNBA athletes compete overseas? - NBC News They're not just bringing their skills to market, they're trying to make sure the market supports their skills. She previously covered the WNBA and NBA for SB Nation. 63). And I dont want to lose the WNBA or miss out on seeing the best female basketball players playing in the league. A WNBA spokesperson reached out to HuffPost after this op-ed was published, however, and said the WNBA has lost significant money every year and has shared its financials with the Players Association. Diana . I know this is a controversial statement because women are never supposed to ask for more than they have, lest they be ungrateful for whatever theyve been given thus far. They want more open accounting and less obeisance to FIFA. People argue that since women in sports work just as hard as men, they should receive equal pay. The reason Griner is in Russia in the first place was because she plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League. ABOUT US. Successful sports build enough familiarity and loyalty that their followers spread, find one another and reach a critical mass that, like a chain reaction in a nuclear power plant, creates a new energy that feeds on itself over time. Listen, * Peter Keating joins Mina to discuss the U.S. Soccer's court victory and what's next for the U.S. women's national team. The league average in 2022 is just $102,751 for WNBA players. And now central offices across the sports map are scrambling to catch up. In 2023, veteran players who report late to their WNBA team's training camp because of overseas commitments will be fined one percent of their salary for each day missed and could be suspended. Griners current yearly salary in the WNBA is $227,900, which is just about a fourth of what she made in Russia this winter, and there are only three players in the WNBA who make more than Griner by $194. Yet nobody is suggesting that Ogwumike ought to be paid $27 million a year -- not even the WNBA athletes who have been fighting the longest for better wages. And shes not alone playing in European and Asian leagues in the offseason is extremely common among WNBA players. I personally love watching the WNBA because these women are extremely talented shooters, ball handlers and passers and I find the teamwork displayed by WNBA teams to be something that the NBA could take a lesson or two from. After all, sponsors want exposure for their brand. Bird said direct comparisons like the one above "comes back on me.". From 1990 to 2012, for instance, MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL teams got a mammoth $17 billion in public funds for new homes, according to research by economists Robert Baade and Victor Matheson. How much do WNBA players make? Top 10 salaries, max contracts, rookie According to the WNBA, this was most-watched regular season since 2014, with viewership across ESPN networks and NBA TV up by 31 percent. Following the success of the 2014 Pride Campaign, the league has continued to reach out to gay fans, promoting stories about their LGBT players, and offering special merchandise for Pride Month and Pride Night games.

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