That being said -- in response to Cambages' comment -- the WNBA does appear to have enough money to pay its top players as well as an NBA referee. 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. 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. So why are we getting paid so little? As Phoenix Mercurys Brittney Griner, earlier this year, I do believe we should get paid more in the WNBA before players decide to only play overseas and rest our bodies during the summer., Last year, Minnesota Lynxs Seimone Augustus. Meanwhile last yearsWNBAchampionship series averaged 487,000 viewers, with a high of 597,000 forGame 1. Are there men that cook well and deal with kids well? While the girls are skilled they are nowhere even close to the guys. market in terms of economic e ciency. Thats patronizing. 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. After they won the World Cup in 2015, it was revealed that the US women's team were paid a . For that to happen, the WNBA needs to make a new deal with its players. 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. The NBA loves supporting women, like Kyrie Irving, who is a professional mens basketball player who currently plays for the New York Nets. In fact, far more than I see and hear them for the Wizards, the local NBA team. Solely because theyre women? in fact the wnba takes home more money from their revenue than nba players. She joined the Journalism program because loves to Former Vice President, Mike Pence, is attempting to fight a subpoena requested by the Special Counsel regarding former president Donald Trumps activities after the 2020 Chinese Balloon Shot Down by F-22 After Days Traversing the U.S. With college application season nearing an end, Centreville senior stress levels have reached their peak as students frantically try to maintain their high first semester Theatre Centreville Presents Mutually Assured Destruction, FCPS Welcomes New Misgendering and Deadnaming Policy to Punish Students (Update), OPINION: Increasing Usage of Social Media, CVHS Student Opinions on College Admissions and Standardized Testing, Donald Trump is Holding the Republican Party Back, Opinion: Walking Has Many Health Benefits, Opinion: Why The Minions Franchise Has a Positive Affect On Our Society, Opinion: Why Dr.Oz Shouldnt Win the Pennsylvania Senate Election, Opinion: Why Players in the WNBA Should Get Paid More, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). But obviously, her pay doesn't match her performance. You can pay your athletes more if they actually bring in the revenue for you to pay them with. Also, overseas love basketball and put butts in seats regardless of who is on the court. In a way, this strategy makes perfect sense. Jon Jones Reacts To Islam Makhachev Declaring Himself The Best Fighter In The World, Shavkat Rakhmonov Reacts To ESPN/UFC Commentator Laura Sanko Thirsting Over Him In Viral Video, Jon Jones First Shirtless Pic At Heavyweight Before UFC 285 Goes Viral, Ja Morants Lawyer, Agent Threaten Legal Recourse For Defamatory Report From The Washington Post, Another Glitch In The Matrix Has Occurred As A Bird Is Filmed Motionless In Mid-Air, Bengals Exec Sends Harsh Wake-Up Call To Teams Sniffing Around Tee Higgins. They are often separated from their families and have to deal with the instability of uprooting their lives multiple times a year. 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. What I mean by that is, the WNBA has a total of 3 rounds with only 12 picks, while the NBA has 2 rounds with a total of 60 picks. Speci cally, I nd that WNBA rookies are generally overpaid given their on-court production. Athletes have short careers. So, I think people support us and recognize that women work too hard to get the little pay they do, but wheres the change? 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. 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. The figures used came from ESPN ranking and salary lists for NBA and WNBA players for 2021-2022. . Comissioner Cathy Englebert (Comissioner of the Womens National Basketball Association), Diese Seite ist durch reCAPTCHA geschtzt und es gelten die Google. They say we are boring or dont play the game the right way. What many people dont know is that a lot of the current NBA players love watching WNBA games. Sports have long mirrored society, and the gender pay gap has persisted in athletics just as it has in the professional realm. 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. Plenty of signs indicate that will happen, and it should. The segment came on the heels of the WNBA Players Association telling the league that they are opting out of the current collective bargaining agreement. There need to be more women and more people of color hired so we can curate our own sports stories. In addition to the comments from Plum, A'Ja Wilson and Diana Taurasi recently argued WNBA players should be paid more. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. On a recent episode of ESPNs The Jump, ex-NBA player Chauncy Billups and ex-NBA coach Stan Van Gundy said that they believe that WNBA players deserve to be paid more money. Equal pay is an ongoing gender issue in sports. In 2009, the WNBA decided to include sponsor logos on their jerseys. Still, some believe there's no other way to explain the disparity than sexism. Nobody has put any effort into making sure that women can at least get paid more than the amount we get. 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. NBA fans are now used to the game that they love. 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 . Many of the women dont get lucrative endorsements, and getting into broadcasting or some other sports-adjacent field once they retire is not guaranteed. Organizing and negotiating prompted that viable business. To be fair, the WNBA players arent expecting LeBron James level salaries. Opens. 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. I don't want to get paid more overseas. Football pays for other sports and clubs. If we assume the average hasn't changed, with 148 players in the league the total salaries paid to players in 2018 is about $11.1 million. 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. Its not even because of skill it is simply because none of the girls could get a shot off at will. This is the first time salaries for women in the WNBA will achieve an average salary that is six figures (Glamour). That's not a lot, and it's certainly less than even the lowest-paid players in Major League Soccer . Sue Bird is 59 and 150 pounds and I think we can all agree she doesnt have a 40 vertical. The league minimum for a player with two or fewer years of service is $41,202; for three or more years of . There is no difference between the girls college tournament and the WNBA. Except I dont know a single person who believes that women should get paid less than men for being as productive while doing the same job. The league average in 2022 is just $102,751 for WNBA players. Some WNBA players can even dunk. The WNBA is currently the top league in the world in terms of talent. 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. Britney Griner was detained in Russia just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The WNBA will never take viewers from the NBA either. They watched the Jordans and the Lebrons, and they are never going to turn their back on them for a game where the players are barely dunking. Berri points out that Major League Baseball players were underpaid until, behind Marvin Miller, they built the strongest union in sports. 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. 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. This would give them the opportunity to negotiate a new deal that increases the salary cap, along with maximum and minimum salaries. It is ridiculous to continue this argument. Nothing rude there. 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. The WNBA has about 570,000 people that are watching the games. Imaging being a player in the WNBA who maybe will make 150,000 a year for no other reason than gender. Retired WNBA. Note: This piece has been updated with a response from the WNBA indicating that the league does share its financials with the players union. 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. 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. Because these women deserve more money. But WNBA players only take less than 25 percent of the total earnings of their league. A WNBA spokesperson reached out to HuffPost after this op-ed was published, however, and said the WNBA has lost significant money every year and has shared its financials with the Players Association. After all, sponsors want exposure for their brand. And we need more people at our table to fight with us, she told Wealthsimple. The most points scored in an NBA game was 100 points and the most scored in a game was 53 points. In 2014, the WNBA launched the first marketing campaign in professional sports to directly appeal to the LGBTQ market. Thats why most women play their time in the league rather than right after they play overseas, so its a year-round thing. So, are women better than men at anything? But forcing employers to pay based solely on gender is going to mean that fewer employers will be willing to hire women. 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. However, that is not going to happen. Of course, a bump to 50 percent of WNBA league revenue isnt realistic, because theres a difference between revenue and profit. In her defense, Wilson is a 21-year-old athlete who probably hasnt thought a great deal about economics. Here are three arguments of which you may not have thought. Copyright 2023 PJMedia.com/Salem Media. The WNBA continues to trail most professional sports in the United States when it comes to player salaries and compensation. In fact, in the segment, ESPNs Rachel Nichols cautions, Heres another key point in all this. All rights reserved. However, if NBA wanted to pay WNBA players more wages and salaries . WNBA players want their equal pay, but no one wants to watch their games. He attended two games with the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Suns. . However, due to aspects such as entertainment value and . Marketing researchers have discovered that consumers respond more favorably to marketing initiatives that cater to their identities. 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. Is it possible, however, that this simply shows an inherent sexist bias by consumers against womens basketball? [B]ecause I heard a bench player gets paid more than nvm.. 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. Nows a good time for players to advocate for themselves because the product in the WNBA has never been better. It is simply because the WNBA is not as good as the NBA and you cant get viewers when there is a better alternative. INFO What are differences that cause WNBA players to get paid Are. I feel like were getting there.. She was returning to Russia to fulfill her contractual obligations to her Russian Team. We feel strongly that if it hadnt been for our consistent advocacy, the WSL would not have made that announcement, Brennan told ESPN. 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. They deserve to be paid well. All Rights Reserved. The contract, which runs through 2027, pays. Thats far away from here, but thats what were fighting toward.. Griner's current yearly salary in the WNBA is $227,900, which is just about a fourth of what she made in Russia this winter, and there are only three players in the WNBA who make more than Griner by $194. Both basketball stars won their fourth championship in October but earned very different bonuses. Part of HuffPost News. Mar 1, 2023. So, although we can follow the lead of boxing and rank the top WNBA players among the very best basketball players in the world, the top players in the WNBA are not going to start earning as much as the top players in the NBA. It took the NBA 72 years to get to where the league is today, while the WNBA is only in its 21st season. 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. 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. Furthermore, two years earlier, the league studied its fan base and discovered that 25 percent of WNBA fans identified as lesbian. The WNBA will suffer if they dont figure out some way to pay players more. While the men are getting about half of the total money they help the NBA earn, the women are getting less than a fourth. I have zero doubt that one day she will prove herself worthy as an employee and that over time her compensation will match her production. Professor of Educational Psychology & Higher Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. What many of the women are asking for is equity in revenue sharing, as economist David Berri has written about repeatedly at Forbes. Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray, Twitter Bans Sen. 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For example some people think that women aren't good enough to get paid more because men are faster, stronger, and more athletic (www.cnn.com.girls basketball). 227 K isn't much more than a non-famous professional couple makes. Seriously, not a single person. A post shared by Kelsey Plum (@kelseyplum10). She is in grave danger and this petition is to try to make sure this never happens again. Rachel Nichols, Adrian Wojnarowski, Stan Van Gundy and Chauncey Billups of The Jump discuss the news that the Women's National Basketball Players Association has opted out of its CBA, in an. It is a credit to the economics profession that the labor theory of value has largely fallen out of style. Just like how these. This is a BETA experience. One might argue that male players produce more points. So yes, it appears NBA referees do make more . The players are the latest athletes to demand equal treatment. I have limited time and resources. 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