Im not going to call out some of the bad NBA players we got in commercials but yall know who they are.. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Which is kind of unbelievable, as WNBA All-Star point guard for the Dallas Wings, Skylar Diggins-Smith, put it recently: 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., Unfortunately, its not clear what the WNBAs exact revenue is, or individual teams, or their profits. We had incredibly thrilling semifinals series that went a full five games apiece. The base salary for WNBA rookies varies on when (or if) players were selected in the WNBA Draft. That includes outlays by committed owners with deep pockets, rather than the unstable financing that has so often plagued franchises in women's sports. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson There actually isn't any correct number, because income data isn't broken out anywhere for the Women's World Cup. The women's national team filed a wage discrimination act against US Soccer, and in turn received a significant raise, increased game bonuses, improved per diem stipends, better travel benefits,. And yet, for all this effort, there is little economic reward. For all that backbreaking labor, in Bangladesh, it was just $662. Some feared that such a campaign could alienate other segments of the leagues fan base. One of the reasons we're even talking about equal pay in sports today is because of the courageous fight of. In 2009, the WNBA decided to include sponsor logos on their jerseys. Why do so many WNBA stars play basketball overseas? - AS USA - Diario AS Playing overseas in Europe, Asia, or Australia can often. NBC and its fleet of cable channels showed a record 631.5 hours of the 2018 Winter Olympics -- and for the first time ever, a majority of prime-time airtime was devoted to women's sports, according to research by Andrew Billings of the University of Alabama and James Angelini of the University of Delaware. Just maybe, however, that cycle is breaking at this moment, because women athletes are changing the terms of business in two of the world's biggest sports. From the point of view of the team owners, the measure of output that matters is the revenue the players generate. It's true players can substantially supplement their W income, which . Meanwhile, the Women's Super League in England has gone fully professional. WNT members wore their jerseys inside out in protest. She is the second-highest-paid player on the team just behind Aja Wilson who earns $202,155. So what's really at stake? Male vs Female Professional Sports Salary Comparison I do not know if the difference in demand for mens and womens basketball is because of a difference in the quality of the product or because of sexism on the part of consumers. All they want is better pay equity. Total attendance in the WNBAs 21st season was 1,574,078, with teams averaging 7,716 fans per game. 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. Worldwide, 18% of university presidents, 11% of astronauts who have been to space and 6% of major-company CEOs are women. Analysis: What equal pay in women's sports really means "So we can build the business, and then when it's really good like the NBA is, then we can get that money," Bird said. For years, the MNT had posted significantly more from events than the WNT -- more than three times as much from 2009 to 2015, according to data from U.S. Soccer. OUR SERVICES. Meanwhile, Steph Curry, the highest-paid player in the NBA, will make $45.7 million this season. But in a sense, it doesnt matter. In an interview with comedian Adam Ray on his "About Last Night Podcast," the legendary Seattle Storm point guard and four-time WNBA champion explained her stance on equality in basketball. At the end of the day, people will still complain that the WNBA is boring, less competitive and that theres no dunking. WNBA players want to be paid more, but can the league accommodate them? Check out the clip of Bird's and Ray's conversation below: Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Leading WNBA players were stunned, but they took note of the NBA's terminology, which was full of words like "development," "programmatic opportunities," "supporting infrastructure" and "tools for top young players to grow." The squads face different adversaries, at different levels of competition, on different schedules, including World Cup cycles in different years. They will also be eligible to get reimbursed for the costs of adoption, surrogacy, fertility treatments and preservation of eggs. As a point of comparison, the NBA didnt draw crowds of this size until its 26th season, when the league averaged 8,061 fans per game. So Barbosa will be paid nearly five times what the WNBA MVP earned, and Barbosa won't even play for the Suns. "I'm like, 'Oh, where's our world going?'". This past July, though, Barbosa was waived by the team. Show Her The Money: Why Female Athletes Deserve Higher Pay - Forbes The women of the WNBA are simply seeking the recognition they deserve for their performances. That's the approach taken by Finnie Bevin Cook, an economist who compiled a report for the plaintiffs in the equal pay lawsuit. What part of fining the New York Liberty $500,000 for taking charter flights to games is politically correct? Which, again, Kelsey Plum isnt arguing for NBA salaries she just believes the league should pay out 50% of shared revenue the same as the NBA does. In 1881, Freidrich Engels wrote an article for the Labour Standard titled A Fair Day's Wages for a Fair Day's Work. You still hear the phrase today. But the truth is more complicated, because a league's financial data also embeds its history, opportunities and labor relations. For instance, NBC Sports had pages for horse racing and the National Dog Show, but not for the WNBA or NWSL. And it's in the runup to that deadline that the two sides will collide again over the even bigger issues at hand. But WNBA players only take less than 25 percent of the total earnings of their league. why wnba players should be paid more - look.perfil.com In 2023, the highest average WNBA salary is held by Aces guard Jackie Young as she makes $252,450 per year, according to Spotrac. The new CBA raises the WNBA salary cap by 30% and boosts maximum annual salaries from $117,500 to $215,000. Indeed, in the developed world, we work much less than our ancestors did, and we do it for a far higher standard of living. Until recently, it seemed that, at least from a business perspective, FIFA pursued that strategy because the money it brought in from the men's tournament dwarfed that from the women's game. "When I think of pay equity, I think of the opportunity that the NBA and other male sports leagues have to be successful.". Why do WNBA athletes compete overseas? - NBC News The money isnt there. The week in tennis: Djokovic and Nadal out, and the younger generation steps up again, Why it's easy to forget that the world's best full-back, Ellie Carpenter, is just 22, College softball rankings: The top 25 teams in the NCAA this week, Everything you need to know about "The Bag Game," a podcast on college hoops' bribery scandal, USWNT lawsuit vs. U.S. Soccer explained: Defining pay gaps, what's at stake, a federal judge sided with U.S. Soccer on most of the key issues at stake in the lawsuit, The WNBA inked a landmark labor deal in January, and reached an eight-year agreement in January. The minimum salary for an NBA player for the 2018-19 season will be $838,464. "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. Diggins-Smith has made hundreds of thousands of dollars during her five seasons in the WNBA, yet she feels its unfair that she makes considerably less than NBA players. The case for boosting WNBA player salaries - The Conversation More recently, men's soccer clubs have kept the gravy train rolling. As just one brutal example, 2018 league MVP Breanna Stewart ruptured her right Achilles tendon in April 2019 while playing for Dynamo Kursk in the EuroLeague women's championship. 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), Lecturer in Environmental Art - School of Art and Design. While the men are getting about half of the total money they help the NBA earn, the women are getting less than a fourth. player with most turnovers in nfl. Investment includes public money too, usually in the form of taxpayer-financed stadiums. The NBA player whose salary is closest to Griner and other top WNBA players is Joe Wieskamp, a forward for the San Antonio Spurs who made $202,068 last year after playing 17 games out of 82 and scoring an average of 2.2 points per game. "ONE THING I DO KNOW," Sunil Gulati, president of U.S. Soccer from 2006 to 2018, said in a declaration to the equal pay lawsuit. "It's not just FIFA that needs to be clear about the revenue that it's making from the Women's World Cup," says Molly Levinson, spokesperson for the U.S. women's national team. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. But once two sides establish good faith in a negotiation, both can see spending -- or sacrifice -- as an investment. Suppose we take the various rates of compensation for the men's national team -- bonuses for appearances and wins in friendlies, tournaments and World Cups -- and apply them to the members of the women's national team, player by player. They cant. Union president Ogwumike announced the move in an essay for The Players' Tribune titled "Bet on Women.". 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. He covers an array of topics including NFL, Pop Culture, Fishing News, and the Outdoors. plenty of action," Cheryl Cooky of Purdue and Michael Messner and Michela Musto of USC wrote in a 2015 report that studied SportsCenter and local TV news broadcasts in Los Angeles. Its true that the WNBA generates about $60 million in revenue per year, while the NBA generates $7.92 billion. Pow!) On average, WNBA players make $75,000 a year in the league, with only a few players earning as much as $113,000. Sabreena Merchant is a women's basketball Staff Writer for The Athletic. As former WNBA President Laurel Richie noted in 2014, For us its a celebration of diversity and inclusion and recognition of an audience that has been with us very passionately.. So did Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber. Compare that to the NFL average of $2.7 million (median is $860K), $4.41 million in the MLB, $3.5 million in the NHL, and the average NBA salary is a whopping $9.662 million for the 2022-23 season. what happened to oleg penkovsky family. While speaking with WNBA legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, the NBA legend called out American companies for not investing more in the WNBA, because, otherwise, the players could earn enough money to not have to play in international leagues in the offseason. "That meme has just made my comments, like, on another level," she said. 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. ", FIFA has a notoriously checkered past with women athletes. Pay WNBA Players What They Deserve | HuffPost Opinion Archive What Should Be Done About the Gender Pay Gap in Sports? CBS Sports Network struck a deal in 2019 to show 40 WNBA games a year, increasing the number of regular-season contests on national television by more than 60%. 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. You can make a case that WNBA players could be paid more, but some people are making an argument that they should be paid the same, or at least similarly. But a generation is still a generation. 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." There are different ways to weight these audience eyeballs and viewing times, and to project future statistics. And theyre not done. In 2015, the WNBA averaged 202,000 viewers on ESPN and ESPN2. Jackson met with Engelbert even before her hiring was official and told her the players were concerned about salary and compensation, player experience, and health and wellness. She believes the athletes deserve more money. Even the WNBA's highest-paid players aren't making particularly lofty sums. Essentially, the women want to partner in growing their game. Not so, says Dave Berri, economics professor at Southern Utah University. New arenas allow teams to improve their game experience, hike prices and build up adjoining land. 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. 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. 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. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. The WNBA generates roughly $25 million. (In its most recent fiscal year, ending in March 2019, the USSF paid $304,113 to current men's coach Gregg Berhalter for four months of work, $241,869 to former coach David Sarachan, whom Berhalter replaced in December 2018, and $1.475 million to former coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who was fired in 2016. 10 years or more: $38,199,000; WNBA: Minimum salary: $15,000; Salary . It is true that on average, female athletes are paid far less than male athletes. According to the WNBA, this was most-watched regular season since 2014, with viewership across ESPN networks and NBA TV up by 31 percent. Now, as the league begins a 25th season of soldiering on in the face of those tired arguments, perhaps the time has. Now, Team USA is in Spain, about to play in the. Hart has played at such a high level that his $13 million player option should be declined without a second thought. 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. Nows a good time for players to advocate for themselves because the product in the WNBA has never been better. That risk/reward ratio, combined with restricted-free-agency rules, has created more incentive to tank for teams in the WNBA than for those in any other major sport. The WNBA has reached an agreement with the players union to phase in pay rises, getting the average up to $130,000 and the top players over $500,000 by 2027. Much more than ever before, the women who become professionals are now building the public support, partnerships and organizations they need to get paid what they are fully worth. Last season, Ogwumike earned $115,000. Has commitment been equal? This season, the maximum veteran salary is $115,500, not including potential bonuses. Only 14 players in the league make $200,000 or more, according to Spotrac data. 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. Sue Bird: 'I Don't Think We Should Get the Same Money As NBA Players' "Have investments been equal? We had incredibly thrilling semifinals series that went a full five games apiece. In recent years, players, teams and even athletes in other sports ice hockey Olympic gold medalists, Canadian soccer pros and W.N.B.A. In a way, this strategy makes perfect sense. "These are businesses, and none of us are out there saying we want to be paid the exact same as the men," says 17-year WNBA veteran Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm. 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. 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. This past July, though, Barbosa was waived by the team. After all, sponsors want exposure for their brand. And yet, they do it, in large part, for the financial security it provides. These women should be paid more. The more exposure they receive, the more theyll dole out the cash for sponsorships, endorsements and advertisements. Beyond anticipating the savings from that huge gulf, Gulati had a second simple reason for paying men and women differently: U.S. Soccer replicates the compensation practices of FIFA, the organization that is by far the biggest driver of unequal pay in global soccer. This per game mark is more than 10,000 fans below the per game mark seen in the NBA in 2016-17. Obviously, if a player can only negotiate with one team, their salary will be depressed. The contract, which runs through 2027, pays players an average of $130,000, with the top stars able to earn more than $500,000 through salary, marketing agreements, an in-season tournament and bonuses. Over in the WNBA, total revenue hit $60 million in 2022. Why WNBA players are not paid as much as NBA players? I dont understand why these companies havent been partnering with yall for years and years, Barkley said. This past March, the USSF even declared it was entitled to treat men better because of biology: "The overall soccer-playing ability required to compete at the senior men's national team level is materially influenced by the level of certain physical attributes, such as speed and strength.". The league average in 2022 is just $102,751 for WNBA players. They're not just bringing their skills to market, they're trying to make sure the market supports their skills. Pay disparities between men and women is totally unfair in most arenas, but NBA star Draymond Green argued a valid point as to why NBA player salaries outweigh their WNBA counterparts. I'm not going to call out some of the bad NBA players we got in commercials but y'all know who they are." In 2023, the highest average WNBA salary is held by Aces guard Jackie Young as she . Kelseys been in the WNBA for 5 seasons with a career average of 12.4ppg but she put up an average of 20.2 points/game in the 2022 season. As demands for equal pay spark across arenas, boardrooms, TV screens, Twitter feeds and even presidential campaigns, it's time to take a deeper look.