The 2019 NBA Finals averaged a little more than 20 million viewers per game; the 2019 WNBA Finals averaged about 400,000 viewers per game. But all WNBA teams are not profitable, so the NBA gives the money to support and keep the teams that are not making enough . Its a heavy responsibility, but its one that we gladly take on, Becky Sauerbraunn told ESPN following the 2019 SheBelieves Cup. And I dont want to lose the WNBA or miss out on seeing the best female basketball players playing in the league. WNBA revenue is a fraction of that produced by the NBA, which is why Green is urging female athletes to target corporations that claim to be supportive equality for women. Three teams experienced double-digit growth: Attendance was up 17.8 percent for the Los Angeles Sparks, 15.3 percent for the Connecticut Sun and 12.3 percent for the Minnesota Lynx. A case can be made thatWNBAplayers are actually overpaid relative to what consumers actually want. about what they have said to make them seem petty or jealous. We feel strongly that if it hadnt been for our consistent advocacy, the WSL would not have made that announcement, Brennan told ESPN. Finally, the NBA is not soccer and will not be screwed the way mens soccer got screwed. The average womans salary year-round is approximately $200,000, while the average man earns $7.5 million or more. 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. The 5th ranked NBA player makes over 42 million. But the risk also offered reward: 15 million Americans self-identify as LGBTQ, and they represent a market segment worth around $830 million. Last week, this exciting season of the WNBA ended after the Seattle Storm swept the Washington Mystics to win their third championship. 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. In addition to the comments from Plum, A'Ja Wilson and Diana Taurasi recently argued WNBA players should be paid more. Its understandable for someone in her position to be envious of the paychecks earned in major professional sports leagues. But to be honest, we play it better than the boys do. They have higher travel expenses. April 2 Equal Pay Day marks the day U.S. women have finally earned the same amount of money as the average man did in 2018. Most recently, in advance of the 2019 FIFA Womens World Cup in France, the United States womens squad took a stand against institutionalized gender discrimination against the team. Women athletes should be paid the same as men athletes. With this deadline looming, the players would be wise to take advantage of this opportunity and compel the league to come to the table with an offer commensurate to their worth. Since the NBA formed the WNBA I can't see how they could not just pay the men less to pay the women more. Hammon has earned $1 million with the Aces after leaving her past job as a coaching assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, making her the highest paid person in the WNBA league. market in terms of economic e ciency. 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. And I know you know what that box could have inside. Unlock premium content, ad-free browsing, and access to comments for just $4/month. Where is the fair day's wage for the fair day's work? They are often separated from their families and have to deal with the instability of uprooting their lives multiple times a year. Kyrie Irving donated a total of $2 million to the WNBA to show his support. Machen Sie das auch? Yet, they still choose to play in the US because . 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? But obviously, her pay doesn't match her performance. The league average in 2022 is just $102,751 for WNBA players. But we are so glad they did, and were thankful because they could have done less But they did the right thing and did it across all of their events.. The contract, which runs through 2027, pays. 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. Nothing rude there. Although that's true, there's still a substantial gender wage gap in professional basketball, even after you adjust for the revenue difference. According to ESPN estimates, NBA players receive around 50 percent of the EBRI; WNBA players receive around 22 percent. So not only are the players taking home 30% less than their NBA counterparts its 20% of a much smaller pie. That it might possibly contain some, oh I don't . It took the NBA 72 years to get to where the league is today, while the WNBA is only in its 21st season. After winning in Indian Wells at the weekend, Djokovic said: "We have much more. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. The figures used came from ESPN ranking and salary lists for NBA and WNBA players for 2021-2022. . 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. And Britney Griner, in an interview with Landon Buford, echoed the sentiment . Because we actually play THE GAME. There is no difference between the girls college tournament and the WNBA. It seems, though, that women have to do way more endorsements and more advertising than men, and we have to be more than basketball players. The womens team has far exceeded the success of their male counterparts, who failed to even qualify for the FIFA Mens World Cup in 2018. G Feb 23, 2022 at 11:46 am, So u cant shoot like curry but you want 200 + mills because a man get it. 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. In her defense, Wilson is a 21-year-old athlete who probably hasnt thought a great deal about economics. Many WNBA players head overseas to play during the off-season, where they can be paid much more than they earn in the U.S. Griner, who was arrested for allegedly transporting drugs, is one of them. Theyre making the most of it while they can. All Rights Reserved. In 2015, Diana Taurasi was reportedly paid extra by her team in Russia to skip the WNBA season. It is not a matter of sexism or discrimination. While the men are getting about half of the total money they help the NBA earn, the women are getting less than a fourth. That's not a lot, and it's certainly less than even the lowest-paid players in Major League Soccer . He attended two games with the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Suns. After they won the World Cup in 2015, it was revealed that the US women's team were paid a . The WNBA has about 570,000 people that are watching the games. When it comes to others opinions, I feel as though we get picked on enough, and not getting paid fairly makes it even worse. Wow LeBron James new contract has triggered some great comments from @WNBA players. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The segment . Some progress is being made. Read about a Freshman's upcoming book (Here), Read about The Pines coming to Bellwood (Here), Read about the NHS Easter egg hunt (Here), Light It Up Blue BluePrints Autism Awareness Initiative. 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. All rights reserved. Meanwhile, for the upcoming NBA season, the minimum salary . Instead, she has a very reasonable argument for why the players deserve more: Kelsey Plum was a guest on The Residency Pod where she laid out an obvious and easily fixable discrepancy between the NBA and WNBA. This was a stellar season, where the final eight teams that made the playoffs werent determined until the last few games. WNBA players typically share less than half of the team revenue received by NBA players, according to Ebony. She was returning to Russia to fulfill her contractual obligations to her Russian Team. Your email address will not be published. She is in grave danger and this petition is to try to make sure this never happens again. 154M. The guys would be way too long and athletic for the girls to score. I have nev. 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. The figures used came from ESPN ranking and salary lists for NBA and WNBA players for 2021-2022. . The WNBA will never take viewers from the NBA either. Players who go overseas end up playing almost year-round, with little break for their bodies to recover. 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. Elizabeth Cambage -- the star center for the Dallas Wings -- recently made this observation on Twitter about pay in the WNBA: "today I learnt NBA refs make more than a WNBA player and the 12th man on a NBA team makes more than a WHOLE WNBA team.". 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. The NBA usually brings in about 2 million viewers that want to sit down and watch the NBA. I choose to ignore them and not attend the games because, to be blunt, the product isnt very good. So even relative to other non-major professional leagues, theWNBAstruggles for relevance. Note: This piece has been updated with a response from the WNBA indicating that the league does share its financials with the players union. In other words, if the WNBA doesnt figure this out, players are going to opt out of the league. Unfortunately the blame the patriarchy narrative doesnt hold up when you compare theWNBAto the college game. nice, wrote Wilson. 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. 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. Women work hard to get what they dream of. Some of those responding on Twitter to Cambage's comment noted that the NBA brings in far more revenue than the WNBA. Some would say that the WNBA should be able to pay their players more because there are only 12 teams, compared to the NBA with 30 teams. working twice as hard and still getting paid less than male players do. Due to this situation the question has surfaced of, Should women basketball players be compensated the same as mens? This topic is brought up at least every year, and nothing has changed. Just like how these. Thats right: These professional athletes have second jobs. As athletes, we have to fight. Twenty-eight members of the current national team pool announced in March that they aresuing U.S. Soccer, seeking equitable pay and treatment, including damages for back pay. And no one wants to see the WNBA die, least of all the players. According to Jami Farkas of Yahoo Finance, WNBA players had an average salary of $74,349 in 2019, increasing to $120,648 in 2021. So much talent seems to go to waste because so many girls dont get drafted since theres not enough space in the league. Dear 16-year-old Swin, Whew, O.K. Its been brought to public attention that the girls basketball teams at the final four have lower grade weight rooms and have been mistreated in their bubble. (For the record, I have seen WNBA games.). The WNBA according to the league the WNBA has yet to make a profit.. BY: Matthew Schleif Has the WNBA made Profit? Theyre making the most of it while they can. In 2014, the WNBA launched the first marketing campaign in professional sports to directly appeal to the LGBTQ market. This is Discrimination against women. It is reported she was detained at the airport for possession of Cannabis oil or hashish oil the reports are conflicting. The US women's soccer team has brought the conversation to the forefront over the last three years. Jahniya Marion is a Junior at Centreville High and enjoying her first year on the Journalism staff. 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. The financial disparities between the leagues are undeniable, and these women arent asking for the same multimillion-dollar salaries their male counterparts make (though that would be nice). And yes, clearly the WNBA does not have enough revenue for its top players to be paid like similar top players in the NBA. In the offseason, almost every WNBA member plays overseas, where they can make up to 10 times their normal WNBA salary. As with so many other female athletes and despite being two of the highest paid women athletes in the world Venus and Serena recognize that they are fighting not only for themselves, but for the generations of women to come. What a laugh. Basically, they want a fair share of the total revenue of the WNBA. If that is so then why can Russia and Europe and China pay them well? However, the WNBA isnt even remotely close to the NBA. All rights reserved. Britney Griner as the 5th ranked WNBA player is paid 227 K by the WNBA. So yes, it appears NBA referees do make more . Yes, Tennis Earnings At The Majors Are Biased. However, if NBA wanted to pay WNBA players more wages and salaries . 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. And it also appears -- in response to McCoughtry's comment -- the WNBA should be more competitive with leagues around the world. To watch all these spoiled assholes get their pay knocked down to WNBA levels would have each and every one of them blowing a top about why they should be paid more, to which then the feminists and WNBA players would chime in about how unfair it is. 2023 The Federalist, A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media. "There need to be more women . Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray, Twitter Bans Sen. Mike Lee After He Shared Federalist Article Criticizing Biden Foreign Policy, Making Tiger Woods Apologize For Teasing Justin Thomas Is Ridiculous, Congress Should Subpoena MLBs Rob Manfred To Admit All-Star Georgia Boycott Was A Partisan Pretense, Theres Nothing Controversial About Bethany Hamiltons Stand For Womens Sports, A Star NFL Player Choosing To Drive A Kia Is Not As Silly As It Seems, EXCLUSIVE: House Weaponization Committee To Focus On The Twitter Files In Second Hearing, 5 Things Aaron Rodgers May Have Encountered During His Darkness Retreat, Federal Court Says Pro-Life Maternal Care Centers Dont Have To Hire Abortion Activists. without needing to get a second job to pay the bills. The NBA's average attendance is 17,760, the WNBA's 6,535. He'll need to connect with all of his players . 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. On average, WNBA players make $75,000 a year in the league, with only a few players earning as much as $113,000. What would Cambage and other WNBA stars be paid this year if the league gave 50% of its revenue to its players? The Long Fight for Pay Equality in Sports. If we also assume that what players have done so far (prior to Friday's games) allows us to forecast each player's final production of wins in 2018 (wins produced can be measured with the player's box score statistics), then here are the fifteen most valuable players in the WNBA (in terms of their forecasted season wins production and the estimate of their salary if the WNBA was paying players like the NBA): It certainly appears that if the WNBA paid like the NBA, the top WNBA players would be paid better than what we think the top NBA referees are receiving. 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