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. As many may not know, men get paid way more money than women's basketball does. This . Machen Sie das auch? For decades, sports media figures have argued that interest drives coverage. That means WNBA players are only getting about 21.5% of league revenue. Some WNBA players can even dunk. Kyrie Irving donated a total of $2 million to the WNBA to show his support. Your email address will not be published. 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. Of course, a bump to 50 percent of WNBA league revenue isnt realistic, because theres a difference between revenue and profit. 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. Seriously, not a single person. We are just asking for it to be fair and for us to get the pay we deserve. . In fact, in the segment, ESPNs Rachel Nichols cautions, Heres another key point in all this. Kelsey Plum currently makes $200,000/year as a point guard for the Las Vegas Aces. In STEM areas, specifically math and computer programming, my daughter is as capable as (if not more capable than) her male peers. Diese*r Petitionsstarter*in setzt sich fr Dinge ein, die ihr/ihm am Herzen liegen. The average viewers on television was 171,000 in 2017 (2018 does appear to be higher averaging 266,300 viewers) WNBA plays 34 games in regular season. So we need a change, and we need it now. But using league revenue, economics professor Dave Berri was recently able to calculate a significant gender wage gap in another respect. Yet more progress can be significantly made. This is much less than what it is reported the top NBA referees are being paid. Lebron James is 69 and 250 pounds of pure muscle and can jump 40 off the ground. Im not saying that WNBA players arent good at the game of basketball and Im not saying that they dont deserve equal pay, but the game just is not the same. Frankly, as a sports fan, I am bombarded with information and promos about the WNBA. Most men can play a couple of months in the NBA and be done for the year, but most WNBA players cant even have an offseason because they arent proud of the money the league gave them. Ryan Rolls Over on Tucker Over Fox News Content, We Need to Talk About Mark Levin's Interview With Ron DeSantis, MONDAY AT 3PM EASTERN: 'Five O'Clock Somewhere' with Kruiser, VodkaPundit - Replay Available, LOL: White House Official Shares Tweet From Biden Showered With His Daughter, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Every once in a while, you'll get someone who claims WNBA players should be paid like LeBron James and other elite NBA talent. Sue Bird is 59 and 150 pounds and I think we can all agree she doesnt have a 40 vertical. This has ledDavid Berri ofForbesto argue that becauseWNBAsalaries make up less than a quarter of league revenue, as opposed to the NBAs 50 percent split, theWNBAis clearly exploiting their players. In a way, this strategy makes perfect sense. 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. According to the High Post Hoops data, Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike, Sylar Diggins-Smith, Angel McCoughtry, Diana Taurasi, Dewanna Bonner, Elena Delle Donne, and Chiney Ogwumike are all paid between $111,180 and $117,500. We need more businesses to sign women and trust them to support their brands. Here are five athletes, teams and leagues that are leading the charge: The USWNT has long been associated with leading the way in the fight for gender equity in soccer. 2023 Womens Sports Foundation. One might argue that male players produce more points. That same year, however, only 2 percent of airtime on the stations flagship show, SportsCenter, was allocated to womens sports. WNBA players, who continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the league, also have been outspoken about the wage gap between their pay and that of the men's teams. 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. According to Jami Farkas of Yahoo Finance, WNBA players had an average salary of $74,349 in 2019, increasing to $120,648 in 2021. 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. There need to be more women and more people of color hired so we can curate our own sports stories. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Is it possible, however, that this simply shows an inherent sexist bias by consumers against womens basketball? 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. 2023 The Federalist, A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media. A case can be made thatWNBAplayers are actually overpaid relative to what consumers actually want. 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. The WNBA has also been eager to experiment with social media and new streaming platforms to connect with fans. James reportedly walked away with $370,000, while Bird only collected $11,356. Unfortunately the blame the patriarchy narrative doesnt hold up when you compare theWNBAto the college game. The off-season should be to rest their bodies and fulfill their contractual obligations for promoting the WNBA through appearances and community outreach as role models to young athletes and to spend time with their families. This is a Gross difference between NBA organizations. We over here looking for a [million] but Lord, let me get back in my lane. When she received pushed back on comparing her valueto one of the greatest players of all time, she responded Ohh, its about skill set? You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. WNBA players typically share less than half of the team revenue received by NBA players, according to Ebony. The team went on to earn the gold at the world championships, then captured its first Olympic gold in 20 years by defeating Team Canada in PyeongChang. This is something that the 150-ish WNBA players have been fighting to change for quite some time. Why WNBA players should be paid more? Meanwhile last yearsWNBAchampionship series averaged 487,000 viewers, with a high of 597,000 forGame 1. If you cannot draw the fans and advertising dollars on your own, why would you expect the NBA to be your support bra? The conversation continued recently when a WNBA player compared the championship bonuses earned by LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm. This should not be tolerated. Currently, the NBA pays its players 50 percent of its total revenue. It is very clear why NBA players make more money than WNBA players they simply generate more revenue. Theyre making the most of it while they can. I feel like were getting there.. Where is the fair day's wage for the fair day's work? It is not a matter of sexism or discrimination. also the nba is funding the wnba over 70 million to keep . According to Bird: So, I thought that it needed . This is Discrimination against women. From 2014 to 2017, Cambage competed in China and her native Australia. Whining about some that is not withstanding the reality of the matter. She believes the athletes deserve more money. Players who go overseas end up playing almost year-round, with little break for their bodies to recover. AEW Dynamite Results: Winners And Grades On March 1, 2023, Celta Vigo Star Gabri Veiga Is Alerting Wealthy Teams In The Premier League, Trade Madness: Knicks, Nets, Rangers, Islanders And Devils Spent February Making Notable Moves, Los Angeles Chargers Have Shown Keenan Allen The Money But They Wont Show Him The Door, Corner Threes Are Secret Sauce For Milwaukee Bucks Offensive Success, OKC Thunder: Upcoming Six-Game Slate Will Dictate Direction Of Season, Is Vince McMahon Secretly Booking WrestleMania 39? She is in grave danger and this petition is to try to make sure this never happens again. Elizabeth Cambage #8 of the Dallas Wings in action during a recent Dallas Wings Vs New York Liberty. [+] Prior to this season, Cambage last played in the WNBA in 2013. 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. I don't want to get paid more overseas. . 154M. , in large part, for the financial security it provides. I choose to ignore them and not attend the games because, to be blunt, the product isnt very good. 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. It is ridiculous to continue this argument. 53 points is something that happens every week in the NBA and they have guys that are 66 to 69 guarding them. In 2014, the WNBA launched the first marketing campaign in professional sports to directly appeal to the LGBTQ market. Its not even because of skill it is simply because none of the girls could get a shot off at will. The simple fact is that more people want to watch the NBA. Are there men that cook well and deal with kids well? Join now to unlock comments, browse ad-free, and access exclusive content from your favorite FDRLST writers. And shes not arguing they deserve NBA-sized salaries. And Angel McCoughtry skipped the 2017 WNBA season. In 2017, the league aired 20 games live on Twitter, while also offering a new fantasy game on the fantasy platform FanDuel. Obviously, the players would want to receive a larger share of league revenue. But even with all this growth, theres one enduring challenge: media exposure. Proclaiming that women should get paid as much as men is a great way for a man to demonstrate his feminist bona fides. And average pay in these leagues is at least three times the average pay in the WNBA, Diana Taurasi was reportedly paid extra by her team in Russia to skip the WNBA season, Stephen Curry and LeBron James in 2017-18 likely exceed the entire revenue of the WNBA, although we can follow the lead of boxing and rank the top WNBA players among the very best basketball players in the world, It was reported that Sylvia Fowles was paid $600,000 to play in China a few years ago, Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles): 8.5 Wins, $741,485, Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota): 8.0 Wins, $700,909, Elizabeth Cambage (Dallas): 7.3 Wins, $648,753, Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles): 6.9 Wins, $610,720, Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas): 6.3 Wins, $564,534, Jewell Loyd (Seattle): 5.8 Wins, $517,210, Alysa Thomas (Connecticut): 5.7 Wins, $509,387, Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta): 5.6 Wins, $508,341, Natalie Achonwa (Indiana): 5.5 Wins, $497,566, Breanna Stewart (Seattle): 5.4 Wins, $486,300, Diana Taurasi (Phoenix): 5.0 Wins, $455,025, DeWanna Bonner (Phoenix): 4.9 Wins, $444,980, Elena Delle Donne (Washington): 4.8 Wins, $441,305, Cheyenne Parker (Chicago): 4.7 Wins, $432,856, Chiney Ogwumike (Connecticut): 4.7 Wins, $432,013. 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. After winning in Indian Wells at the weekend, Djokovic said: "We have much more. Swin Cash. This lack of media coverage has always hampered womens sports. In 2017, the team threatened to boycott the 2017 IIHF World Championships if a settlement was not made with USA Hockey for equal treatment to the mens team. All Rights Reserved. The organization exists to increase the number of events and the number of awards for women, as well as offering equal prize money to achieve meaningful equity in competitive surfing.. in fact the wnba takes home more money from their revenue than nba players. Did You Ever Wonder How and Why the Left Is Able to Push Their Narratives Almost Unhindered? However, 48 million dollars per year is more than enough for me. Yet, they still choose to play in the US because . We had incredibly thrilling semifinals series that went a full five games apiece. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. 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. Although that's true, there's still a substantial gender wage gap in professional basketball, even after you adjust for the revenue difference. Specifically, let's imagine the WNBA gave 50% of its revenue to its players. Because these women deserve more money. Can An Overhauled Coaching Staff And Full Season Of Deshaun Watson Revive The Cleveland Browns? The WNBA has made strides to increase player salaries and find other waysto compensate players in the last CBA, which was ratified in 2020. Equal pay is an ongoing gender issue in sports. Boys and men pick on the league every day. 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. The players are the latest athletes to demand equal treatment. In the 2018 All-Star Game, for example, 32 percent of the roster identified as gay. 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. He attended two games with the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Suns. He'll need to connect with all of his players . No one cares about the WNBA and no one watches their games lol. Furthermore, two years earlier, the league studied its fan base and discovered that 25 percent of WNBA fans identified as lesbian. Berri points out that Major League Baseball players were underpaid until, behind Marvin Miller, they built the strongest union in sports. The figures used came from ESPN ranking and salary lists for NBA and WNBA players for 2021-2022. . Professor of Educational Psychology & Higher Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Cass Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of BroBible. I dont know anyone who would disagree with that. , WNBA players make $75,000 a year in the league, with only a few players earning as much as $113,000. I want to get paid in my country.". This year in the 2022 playoffs, Ja Morant is the starting PG for the Memphis Grizzles. Opens. [B]ecause I heard a bench player gets paid more than nvm.. WNBA players want what NBA players spent decades trying to obtain. 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. Giving the WNBA time on TV means casual fans can see the players doing what they do best stealing the show. Over in the WNBA, total revenue hit $60 million in 2022. As fans, we deserve to see them playing at their highest level after a restful off-season. 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. Compared to the average salary of $7 million in the NBA, this seems outrageous. The NBA's highest-paid player in 2020-2021 makes 194.2 times more money than the WNBA's highest-paid players Heading into the 2021 WNBA season, there are seven players tied for the highest salary in the league DeWanna Bonner, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird , Liz Cambage, and Elena Delle Donne, who each . They are not going to watch a game where the best team in the league would lose by 30 to the best high school team in the nation. We need a change, and we need people to support us in this change. As athletes, we have to fight. NBA players are taller, more athletic, and simply play the game with more aggression. And while thats not a dollar amount to sniff at, these women only have so long to earn money off their athletic ability. 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. 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