Thats far away from here, but thats what were fighting toward.. The WNBA is 50 years behind in building its brand and working out labor issues. I have gone back and forth on this issue and it saddens me that many women do not see it through the lenses of reality. This should not be tolerated. Thats right: These professional athletes have second jobs. Like Russia. The NBA makes a profit. The average salary of a WNBA player as of 2017 was $75,000, whereas the average NBA salary is $30 million. But the risk also offered reward: 15 million Americans self-identify as LGBTQ, and they represent a market segment worth around $830 million. He attended two games with the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Suns. Playing overseas in Europe, Asia, or Australia can often. The move was controversial at the time given all major sport leagues in the U.S. had previously opted to keep jerseys free of advertisements but the NBA followed their lead in 2017. Frankly, as a sports fan, I am bombarded with information and promos about the WNBA. After pushing their bodies to the limit in their regular season and in an equally demanding World Cup, a whole lot of WNBA players will be spending a significant chunk of their year overseas playing on professional teams and in leagues in order to supplement their WNBA income. The most points scored in an NBA game was 100 points and the most scored in a game was 53 points. In a way, this strategy makes perfect sense. Before winning a historic gold medal in the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, the U.S. Womens National Ice Hockey Team was battling off the ice for equal pay. "The International Cricket Council funded all the men's teams to fly business class but, only paid for the women's teams to fly economy class" (Wigmore). And there is seemingly, to the people who tell them to be quiet, who. At the end of the day, just about any article focusing on how athletes are either under (or over) paid stem from the fallacious view that their compensation is an inherent product of their labor, rather than the subjective values of consumers. working twice as hard and still getting paid less than male players do. It was, like, if you were a top player, no matter what you did, you were just going to make this one sum of money. Giving the WNBA time on TV means casual fans can see the players doing what they do best stealing the show. In fact, in the segment, ESPNs Rachel Nichols cautions, Heres another key point in all this. He covers an array of topics including NFL, Pop Culture, Fishing News, and the Outdoors. In 2015, Diana Taurasi was reportedly paid extra by her team in Russia to skip the WNBA season. It is reported she was detained at the airport for possession of Cannabis oil or hashish oil the reports are conflicting. Nancy Lough does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. I cant even mention 5 players in the WNBA or tell you the winners of the last 3 finals. . Many NBA players are vocal in their support of the womens league because of the quality of play and because they understand the hard work these women put into their game. Sports are a revenue-driven industry! The WNBA has also been eager to experiment with social media and new streaming platforms to connect with fans. 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. As someone who has studied the WNBA for years, only about half of WNBA franchises finish the season in the black, a market segment worth around $830 million, have argued that interest drives coverage, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. She is also not the only one to skip a WNBA season. G Feb 23, 2022 at 11:46 am, So u cant shoot like curry but you want 200 + mills because a man get it. I do believe that WNBA players are highly skilled, but against Lebron James they are basically kindergarteners playing seniors in high school. We don't know exactly how much revenue the WNBA brings in, but given the league's minimum ticket prices, average attendance, and the value of its ESPN television deal it appears revenue was at least $51.5 million in 2017. Speci cally, I nd that WNBA rookies are generally overpaid given their on-court production. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? Plenty of signs indicate that will happen, and it should. In a perfect world, yes, yes they absolutely should. Old Joe Biden Has Never Told a WEIRDER Story Than This One, Et Tu, Paul? Average attendance per game was 7,716 in 2017. Playing overseas in Europe, Asia, or Australia can often pay substantially more than playing in the United States. Part of HuffPost News. He'll need to connect with all of his players . Last week, this exciting season of the WNBA ended after the Seattle Storm swept the Washington Mystics to win their third championship. This is evident in the lack of "highlight" plays that the WNBA is able to offer up. They expect the NBA to take salary from the owners and men to shore up the WNBA so they can have equal to what the men get. All they want is better pay equity. Until they get it, some of the worlds best female basketball players will be walking off of planes and onto courts as they meet the demands of a year-round basketball schedule. The men tend to play to impress or are just out there for the results, and we play for the process. Keep being inspired.Subscribe to our newsletter. The figures used came from ESPN ranking and salary lists for NBA and WNBA players for 2021-2022. . The league minimum for a player with two or fewer years of service is $41,202; for three or more years of . Of course TV ratings themselves are less important to this topic than dollars attached to theirtelevision contracts, and to theWNBAs credit, ESPN doubled the value of their contract with the league to $25 million a year in 2016. Many will say womens basketball is boring or played the wrong way, and they may even say it sucks, but I think we play the game better than the men.how? We need a change, and we need people to support us in this change. For example, if a woman made an NBA team, then she should get paid commensurate to her position and contributions to her team. Wow LeBron James new contract has triggered some great comments from @WNBA players. This . And Angel McCoughtry skipped the 2017 WNBA season. For decades, sports media figures have argued that interest drives coverage. Heres the thing: the WNBA is not nearly as profitable as the NBA. In her defense, Wilson is a 21-year-old athlete who probably hasnt thought a great deal about economics. It is important to note that the WNBA athletes are not asking for the multimillion dollar contracts that are prevalent in the NBA; they are simply asking for equity. The Long Fight for Pay Equality in Sports. In 2009, the WNBA decided to include sponsor logos on their jerseys. Because we actually play THE GAME. Kelsey Plum currently makes $200,000/year as a point guard for the Las Vegas Aces. Last week, this exciting season of the WNBA ended after the Seattle Storm swept the Washington Mystics to win their third championship. In addition, let's say all players in the WNBA -- regardless of productivity -- are guaranteed at least the league minimum; with whatever revenue that remains split among the players in terms of their positive contribution to team wins. As The New York Timesreported in 2016,only half ofWNBAteams have managed to become profitable 20 years after the leagues founding. After all, theWNBAis subsidized by the NBA in a variety of ways, including by direct financial support, free publicity, and the fact that manyWNBAfranchises are owned by the citys NBA owner. She is in grave danger and this petition is to try to make sure this never happens again. Sue Bird, a current player for the Seattle Storm, explained that most people think the WNBA wants the same pay as the NBA when thats not the case. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. Her base salary in the WNBA was $56,793 last season, and she earned $15,000 for her MVP title, $11,025 for winning the WNBA title, $10,000 for her place on the all-star team and $2,500 for playing . This was a stellar season, where the final eight teams that made the playoffs werent determined until the last few games. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Doppler, the mascot of the Seattle Storm, waves a rainbow gay pride flag before the start of a game. On average, WNBA players make $75,000 a year in the league, with only a few players earning as much as $113,000. 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Nothing rude there. Answer (1 of 2): The WNBA is heavily subsidized by the NBA; but for this fact, the WNBA would have folded a long time ago. Finally, the NBA is not soccer and will not be screwed the way mens soccer got screwed. Another reason why NBA players make more money than WNBA players is because the owners of NBA teams can charge more for tickets and merchandise. So instead of grumbling about the salaries male basketball players enjoy, perhaps Aja Wilson should be thankful that the mensproduct helps bolster her own paycheck. Perhaps higher pay in the WNBA would keep stars like Cambage in the league. Demanding that female players be paid what they deserve is not about comparing the WNBA to the NBA as apples-to-apples salaries. Nobody has put any effort into making sure that women can at least get paid more than the amount we get. The guys are 10 times more athletic than the girls too. So, I think people support us and recognize that women work too hard to get the little pay they do, but wheres the change? However, in the 1971-1972 season the year the NBA started drawing the same number of fans that the WNBA attracts today the average salary was $90,000, which would equate to roughly $500,000 today. If you cannot draw the fans and advertising dollars on your own, why would you expect the NBA to be your support bra? https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21701, https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21599, https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21584, https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21591, https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21594, https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21598, https://thebablueprint.com/26107/opinion/equal-pay-wont-happen-for-wnba/#comment-21653. We are just asking for it to be fair and for us to get the pay we deserve. 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." The WNBA legend said people "think we think that when we say things like 'We want equality,'" but that, in actuality, she and her colleagues want "the same . It has been reported that more than 60% of the WNBA's players play in a league outside the United States when the WNBA season ends. "Pay us like you pay the men. Grls smh, Lucky Jan 30, 2022 at 3:54 pm, basketball girl Feb 11, 2022 at 10:43 am, Hayden Feb 18, 2022 at 1:56 pm, David Feb 23, 2022 at 9:15 am, Lmao everything he said or typed here were cold hard facts. For example, the average salary for a WNBA player is just over $100,000. which tips off later this week in Tenerife, with the final on Sept. 30. will be spending a significant chunk of their year overseas playing on professional teams and in leagues in order to supplement their WNBA income. The league has more gay players and fans, percentage-wise, than any other major professional sport. Meanwhile, the women have placed in the top three teams in every Womens World Cup since 1991 (when the womens tournament began) and has three titles. Therefore no one watches it, on the other hand, NBA generates more revenue of $7.92 billion per year than the WNBA. Get it together. That is more than $92 million a year for the rights to televise the USGA's championships, including the men's and women's U.S. Theyll be more prone to hiring men because theyll be able to pay men based on their production more bang for the buck, so to speak. You may opt-out by. Meanwhile, for the upcoming NBA season, the minimum salary of a professional NBA player is $838,464. If the WNBA doesnt make a profit, and ESPNs sources confirm that it doesnt, then it bears to reason that the players share of the EBRI will be lower. The results suggest that WNBA star players and starters are generally paid according to their respective levels of productivity, although there is evidence that ine ciencies exist with regards to rookie compensation. According to Bird: So, I thought that it needed . Answer (1 of 22): I will be as objective as I can be. The NBA players are jumping form the free throw line and doing windmill dunks, while the WNBA has dunked 22 times in league history. Last year, total attendance for the WNBAs 12 teams reached 1,574,078, with an average attendance of 7,716 fans a new high for the 21-year-old league. Fact is the average WNBA salary, slightly less than $100,000, is roughly 1.5 percent of the average NBA salary, which exceeds $7 million. So most of us dont get drafted or better yet, we get waved off because there isnt enough space and they can only pay for so many players. The league average in 2022 is just $102,751 for WNBA players. The players want more money. I have limited time and resources. While the men are getting about half of the total money they help the NBA earn, the women are getting less than a fourth. The NBA loves supporting women, like Kyrie Irving, who is a professional mens basketball player who currently plays for the New York Nets. So, are women better than men at anything? The methodology used to measure exploitation in college basketball can help answer that question. Thats why most women play their time in the league rather than right after they play overseas, so its a year-round thing. This is the first time salaries for women in the WNBA will achieve an average salary that is six figures (Glamour). Founded by Billie Jean King. Total revenue for the NBA hit $7.4 billion in 2022. With top players earning more than $1 million nearly quadruple what they can make as a base salary in the WNBA Griner, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Jonquel Jones have been . And we need more people at our table to fight with us, she told Wealthsimple. Reaction: Raymond Moore and THOSE comments Get down on your knees lady players! Unfortunately the blame the patriarchy narrative doesnt hold up when you compare theWNBAto the college game. Many of the women dont get lucrative endorsements, and getting into broadcasting or some other sports-adjacent field once they retire is not guaranteed. Opens. That same year, however, only 2 percent of airtime on the stations flagship show, SportsCenter, was allocated to womens sports. The men tend to play to impress or are just out there for the results, and we play for the process. On average, WNBA players make $75,000 a year in the league, with only a few players earning as much as $113,000. The WNBA does not have the amount of television contract and sponsorship money to warrant paying players more, having a longer season, and/or make other investments to the league. Britney Griner was detained in Russia just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. By comparison, last years Professional Bowling League averaged650,000 viewers for ESPN. Of course the real issue has nothing to do with sexism and everything to do with the fact that theWNBAsimply isnt very popular with Americans. Since the NBA formed the WNBA I can't see how they could not just pay the men less to pay the women more. Some of those responding on Twitter to Cambage's comment noted that the NBA brings in far more revenue than the WNBA. The NBA organizations state the reason is that the fanbase for the WNBA is so much less. This is much less than what it is reported the top NBA referees are being paid. I have nev. I fault the narrative claiming that one group deserves as much money as another group solely because of gender the narrative that the utopic desire for gender equality trumps market forces. 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