why wnba players should be paid more

well these wnba players are going on live tv saying they want a pay increase by comparing themselves to the nba salaries. 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. Seriously, not a single person. Therefore no one watches it, on the other hand, NBA generates more revenue of $7.92 billion per year than the WNBA. For example, the average salary for a WNBA player is just over $100,000. The maximum veteran salary is $113,500. 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. 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 shes not arguing they deserve NBA-sized salaries. Cass Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of BroBible. And there is seemingly no end to the people who tell them to be quiet, who disparage their talent and work and even lie about what they have said to make them seem petty or jealous. Meanwhile, High Post Hoops reports that the highest paid player in the WNBA -- Chiney Ogwumike of the Connecticut Sun -- is paid $117,500 this year. 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. As for the players, well, they deserve to be able to play the game they love (that theyre good at!) 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. They are often separated from their families and have to deal with the instability of uprooting their lives multiple times a year. 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. The Women's National Basketball Association only generates $60 million per year. , in large part, for the financial security it provides. It is not a matter of sexism or discrimination. 2023 Womens Sports Foundation. Your email address will not be published. Solely because theyre women? Heres the thing: the WNBA is not nearly as profitable as the NBA. But forcing employers to pay based solely on gender is going to mean that fewer employers will be willing to hire women. It felt like records were set on an almost weekly basis. And for the first time, gamers could play with WNBA players in NBA Live 18. The NBA makes a profit. 2 Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich? I dont know how any single person could enjoy watching someone shoot wide open jump shots and wide open layups. Prior to this season, Cambage last played in the WNBA in 2013. But in terms of pay, it definitely is not. Theyre making the most of it while they can. If you've ever gone to a high school football game, you've probably seen some of the . As said in the article my Glamour, the . 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. It is a credit to the economics profession that the labor theory of value has largely fallen out of style. For example, if a woman made an NBA team, then she should get paid commensurate to her position and contributions to her team. The WNBA has made strides to increase player salaries and find other waysto compensate players in the last CBA, which was ratified in 2020. Every once in a while, you'll get someone who claims WNBA players should be paid like LeBron James and other elite NBA talent. In fact, in the segment, ESPNs Rachel Nichols cautions, Heres another key point in all this. I don't want to get paid more overseas. Unfortunately the blame the patriarchy narrative doesnt hold up when you compare theWNBAto the college game. Yes they are. is not about comparing the WNBA to the NBA as apples-to-apples salaries. This was a stellar season, where the final eight teams that made the playoffs werent determined until the last few games. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. 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. 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. Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports. 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. In essence, the owners arent making money off the league. 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. Player's salaries in the NWSL range from about $16,000 to $46,000 annually, according to NPR. Most men, of course, sign with brands or maybe even run their own. Meanwhile, for the upcoming NBA season, the minimum salary . 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. Meanwhile, Steph Curry, the highest-paid player in the NBA, will make $45.7 million this season. All rights reserved. If the WNBA doesnt figure this out, players are going to opt out of the league. They should fight for it because theyve earned it. "And we need more people at our table to fight with us," she told Wealthsimple. But the risk also offered reward: 15 million Americans self-identify as LGBTQ, and they represent a market segment worth around $830 million. If you cannot draw the fans and advertising dollars on your own, why would you expect the NBA to be your support bra? In 2014, ESPN paid the WNBA $17 million for broadcast rights. Meanwhile, for the upcoming NBA season, the minimum salary of a professional NBA player is $838,464. The players want more money. We use all the fundamentals that the game was made for. We might not get it today, but we want a future better for maybe my daughter, or her daughter, and so thats what we really are fighting for, Serena told CNBC. 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. While all four of the major Grand Slam tennis tournaments have awarded men and women equal prize money since 2007 when Wimbledon finally evened its pay gap, the games biggest female stars have not held back when it comes to speaking out about equal pay. However, that is not going to happen. 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. This is the first time salaries for women in the WNBA will achieve an average salary that is six figures (Glamour). If WNBA players demand a higher salary that would match the NBA, the league. They deserve to be paid well. The WNBA continues to trail most professional sports in the United States when it comes to player salaries and compensation. In the WNBA the range of salaries is $117K to $215K for the highest-paid players. Maybe I am wrong and the WNBA will blow up one day and make more money. 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.. 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. Yet more progress can be significantly made. Marketing researchers have discovered that consumers respond more favorably to marketing initiatives that cater to their identities. Perhaps higher pay in the WNBA would keep stars like Cambage in the league. 154M. 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. At that point, whatever their salaries currently are will disappear completely. Some feared that such a campaign could alienate other segments of the leagues fan base. As a result of all this, merchandise sales grew by 18 percent in 2017, attendance has increased, more people are tuning in, and players are acquiring significant social media followings. They incur a lot of wear and tear and injuries to their bodies. And although we don't know every player's salary, it has been reported that average salary is about $75,000. If Women and Men athletes were paid more equitably then Britney wouldn't . I do believe that WNBA players are highly skilled, but against Lebron James they are basically kindergarteners playing seniors in high school. Diese*r Petitionsstarter*in setzt sich fr Dinge ein, die ihr/ihm am Herzen liegen. The league average in 2022 is just $102,751 for WNBA players. But should they be seeing an increase in their earnings? And its something were going to keep trying to push and push and push until we feel that everything is equal. Speci cally, I nd that WNBA rookies are generally overpaid given their on-court production. It is ridiculous to continue this argument. Oh god I hope the WNBA players now push hard for that. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. All rights reserved. Although that's true, there's still a substantial gender wage gap in professional basketball, even after you adjust for the revenue difference. The WNBA has also been eager to experiment with social media and new streaming platforms to connect with fans. must.be. I see and hear promos for the Washington Mystics, the local WNBA team, all the time. Playing overseas in Europe, Asia, or Australia can often. The NBA player whose salary is closest . Meanwhile, High Post Hoops reports that the highest paid player in the WNBA -- Chiney Ogwumike of the Connecticut Sun -- is paid $117,500 this year. The average salary of a WNBA player as of 2017 was $75,000, whereas the average NBA salary is $30 million. Yet much progress has been made on this front, and the league has found particularly innovative ways to promote its players, grow its fan base and tap into new revenue streams. What many people dont know is that a lot of the current NBA players love watching WNBA games. It took the NBA 72 years to get to where the league is today, while the WNBA is only in its 21st season. Answer (1 of 22): I will be as objective as I can be. She is in grave danger and this petition is to try to make sure this never happens again. The yearly revenue is 7.92 billion dollars for the NBA, and the WNBA is 60 million dollars. The WNBAs current collective bargaining agreement wont 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 year, which barely keeps pace with inflation at its current rate. Britney Griner was detained in Russia just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the average WNBA salary was US$71,635, and this year appears to be closer to $75,000. Women athletes should be paid the same as men athletes. In her defense, Wilson is a 21-year-old athlete who probably hasnt thought a great deal about economics. Please everyone support our women athletes. That it might possibly contain some, oh I don't . 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. In the WNBA the range of salaries is $117K to $215K for the highest-paid players. That is 1 million in just a year, while for a regular season they get paid $400K in just a year. Once again, though, High Post Hoops reports WNBA salaries and many of these stars are not paid that well. The latest example of this economic fallacy emerged when Aja Wilson of theWNBAs Las Vegas Acestook to Twitter to pokeLeBronJamessnew contract with the Las AngelesLakers. WWE Insider Says Yes, recently made this observation on Twitter about pay in the WNBA, but Yahoo.com reported a few years ago that salaries range from $150,000 to $550,000, there's still a substantial gender wage gap in professional basketball, 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, it has been reported that average salary is about $75,000, The methodology used to measure exploitation in college basketball, wins produced can be measured with the player's box score statistics, 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. Ninety-five percent or higher of sports media content is focused on men, even though women make up 40 percent of all sports participants. In 2009, the WNBA decided to include sponsor logos on their jerseys. Zion Williamson at 68 can jump 44 and broke a rim during an all star game due to dunking the ball with two hands so hard. This was a stellar season, where the final eight teams that made the playoffs werent determined until the last few games. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? But the notion that women deserve to be paid more just because theyre women is absurd and counterproductive to my daughters future earning potential. The league has more gay players and fans, percentage-wise, than any other major professional sport. 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. Is going to mean that fewer employers will be willing to hire women salary would. Demand a higher salary that would match the NBA as apples-to-apples salaries should they be seeing an in. 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