(Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images). Now, Team USA is in Spain, about to play in the. They say we are boring or dont play the game the right way. All rights reserved. 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. Yet, they still choose to play in the US because . Meanwhile last yearsWNBAchampionship series averaged 487,000 viewers, with a high of 597,000 forGame 1. Machen Sie das auch? According to a 2014 study by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, Women sports receive only 4 per cent of all . Wake up to the day's most important news. This is something that the 150-ish WNBA players have been fighting to change for quite some time. 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. In the NBA, the same ratio is about 4.7. They make it to the WC and have to split the revenue with the womens soccer team. 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. Because we actually play THE GAME. As someone who has studied the WNBA for years, Ive been excited to witness, over the course of this season, continued growth in viewership and attendance, along with sponsorship revenue. The WNBA has made strides to increase player salaries and find other waysto compensate players in the last CBA, which was ratified in 2020. Grls smh, Lucky Jan 30, 2022 at 3:54 pm, basketball girl Feb 11, 2022 at 10:43 am, Hayden Feb 18, 2022 at 1:56 pm, David Feb 23, 2022 at 9:15 am, Lmao everything he said or typed here were cold hard facts. Ninety-five percent or higher of sports media content is focused on men, even though women make up 40 percent of all sports participants. And Britney Griner, in an interview with Landon Buford, echoed the sentiment . Founded by Billie Jean King. However, you cannot have equal pay when you dont make enough money to have the same amount of pay. So playing womens basketball overseas is way better. LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in human history, but if his sport of choice generated the public interest the WNBA has, he would not be signing a $154 million dollar contract. But forcing employers to pay based solely on gender is going to mean that fewer employers will be willing to hire women. Speci cally, I nd that WNBA rookies are generally overpaid given their on-court production. He attended two games with the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Suns. They are often separated from their families and have to deal with the instability of uprooting their lives multiple times a year. Let's delve into the reasons why they . And yes, clearly the WNBA does not have enough revenue for its top players to be paid like similar top players in the NBA. These women should be paid more. We need more businesses to sign women and trust them to support their brands. Per The New York Times, the womens players were barely making living wages and were left out of pre-Olympic marketing plans despite their success on the ice. And no one wants to see the WNBA die, least of all the players. The NBA usually brings in about 2 million viewers that want to sit down and watch the NBA. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? Unlock premium content, ad-free browsing, and access to comments for just $4/month. Ahead of the 2017 IIHF World Championships, after a yearlong battle, USA Hockey conceded to many of the players demands. The WNBA might be the most boring form of basketball I have ever seen. 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. 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. That's not a lot, and it's certainly less than even the lowest-paid players in Major League Soccer . In 2018, much of CEWS work paid off, as the World Surf League announced equal prize money for all WSL-controlled events in 2019 and beyond, a huge step for what has been a traditionally male-dominated sport. Sue Bird is arguably the best player in the WNBA and Lebron James is the best player in the NBA so lets compare the two. However, the players union has the option to terminate the agreement after the 2019 season if they give notice by Oct. 31 of this year. All rights reserved. NBA players receive 50% of revenue while WNBA players receive 20%. 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 . Every once in a while, you'll get someone who claims WNBA players should be paid like LeBron James and other elite NBA talent. Some WNBA players can even dunk. If Women and Men athletes were paid more equitably then Britney wouldn't . are vocal in their support of the womens league because of the quality of play and because they understand the hard work these women put into their game. You may opt-out by. Lisa Borders, president of theWNBA, has even directlypointed to sexismas a driving reason for the discrepancies between the earnings ofmale and female players. 2023 The Federalist, A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media. . Prior to this season, Cambage last played in the WNBA in 2013. Currently, the NBA pays its players 50 percent of its total revenue. This is Discrimination against women. Football pays for other sports and clubs. The Women's National Basketball Association only generates $60 million per year. 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. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. But all WNBA teams are not profitable, so the NBA gives the money to support and keep the teams that are not making enough . That it might possibly contain some, oh I don't . It is a credit to the economics profession that the labor theory of value has largely fallen out of style. So we need a change, and we need it now. Players who go overseas end up playing almost year-round, with little break for their bodies to recover. Answer (1 of 22): I will be as objective as I can be. This season, the maximum veteran salary is $115,500, not including potential bonuses. Most people will say a lot of our income comes from the number of people we get at our games or maybe even the fact that we cant afford to have our games channelized on national TV. It is simply because the WNBA is not as good as the NBA and you cant get viewers when there is a better alternative. They can also pay their players more since they have the ability to create more demand for their products and services. The WNBA has about 570,000 people that are watching the games. 154M. As fans, we deserve to see them playing at their highest level after a restful off-season. Berri points out that Major League Baseball players were underpaid until, behind Marvin Miller, they built the strongest union in sports. But should they be seeing an increase in their earnings? The players want more money. Boys and men pick on the league every day. The Boston Celtics player says men need to do more to support WNBA players in their fight for equal pay. Nobody has put any effort into making sure that women can at least get paid more than the amount we get. In her defense, Wilson is a 21-year-old athlete who probably hasnt thought a great deal about economics. In fact, theWNBAs big television contractwas itself a byproduct of the channelreworking its agreement with their male counterpart. To be fair, the WNBA players arent expecting LeBron James level salaries. Against The Men By: Dave Seminara June 29, 2017 10 min read Over the next fortnight at The Championships, more commonly known as Wimbledon, 256. According to ESPN estimates, NBA players receive around 50 percent of the EBRI; WNBA players receive around 22 percent. And in sport, just as in society, women are fighting back, working towards the day when pay equality is achieved. The NBA's average attendance is 17,760, the WNBA's 6,535. is not about comparing the WNBA to the NBA as apples-to-apples salaries. And we need more people at our table to fight with us, she told Wealthsimple. Relative to the history of the league, this was an extraordinary success, up 39 percent from last year. It is very clear why NBA players make more money than WNBA players they simply generate more revenue. The women of the WNBA are simply seeking the recognition they deserve for their performances. 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. WNBA players want their equal pay, but no one wants to watch their games. 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. 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. Women work hard to get what they dream of. The average womans salary year-round is approximately $200,000, while the average man earns $7.5 million or more. WNBA players arent asking for NBA level compensation. She also said it would be a letdown of all the work the founders of the league put into it if the current players decided to forgo the league for increased earnings.. If the WNBA doesnt figure this out, players are going to opt out of the league. Maybe I am wrong and the WNBA will blow up one day and make more money. The guys would be way too long and athletic for the girls to score. In other words, if the WNBA doesnt figure this out, players are going to opt out of the league. about what they have said to make them seem petty or jealous. The men tend to play to impress or are just out there for the results, and we play for the process. Unfortunately Wilsons thoughts reflecta growingtrend of sports commentarylooking at the plight of the underpaidWNBAplayer. It won't only be for NBA but life in general. But the risk also offered reward: 15 million Americans self-identify as LGBTQ, and they represent a market segment worth around $830 million. "Pay us like you pay the men. Giving the WNBA time on TV means casual fans can see the players doing what they do best stealing the show. But using league revenue, economics professor Dave Berri was recently able to calculate a significant gender wage gap in another respect. 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. As many may not know, men get paid way more money than women's basketball does. . 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. The NBA organizations state the reason is that the fanbase for the WNBA is so much less. The Players Association wants a higher share of the estimated basketball-related income (EBRI). Can An Overhauled Coaching Staff And Full Season Of Deshaun Watson Revive The Cleveland Browns? I dont know anyone who would disagree with that. Perhaps higher pay in the WNBA would keep stars like Cambage in the league. You can pay your athletes more if they actually bring in the revenue for you to pay them with. Many of the women dont get lucrative endorsements, and getting into broadcasting or some other sports-adjacent field once they retire is not guaranteed. Nows a good time for players to advocate for themselves because the product in the WNBA has never been better. 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. Here are three arguments of which you may not have thought. The maximum veteran salary is $113,500. . 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. Basketball. He estimated that WNBA player salaries constitute 22 percent of league revenue, while NBA player salaries amount to roughly 50 percent of league revenues. And while thats not a dollar amount to sniff at, these women only have so long to earn money off their athletic ability. Hell yeah. Prior to this season, Cambage last played in the WNBA in 2013. The WNBA says players can make up to half a million dollars or more annually for four months' play between salary, bonuses, in-season tournaments and league and team marketing deals.. just youtube it its kind of their whole issue seeing nba players get paid multi million dollar contracts while they make 80-100k per year. In addition to the comments from Plum, A'Ja Wilson and Diana Taurasi recently argued WNBA players should be paid more. If you've ever gone to a high school football game, you've probably seen some of the . It is important to note that the WNBA athletes are not asking for the multimillion dollar contracts that are prevalent in the NBA; they are simply asking for equity. 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. Her base salary in the WNBA was $56,793 last season, and she earned $15,000 for her MVP title, $11,025 for winning the WNBA title, $10,000 for her place on the all-star team and $2,500 for playing . World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic says male tennis players deserve more money because the spectators love them more, and Indian Wells tournament ex-CEO Raymond Moore astutely observed the women's tour rides "on the coat-tails of the men". Solely because theyre women? Opens. Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports. 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). Just like how these. The yearly revenue is 7.92 billion dollars for the NBA, and the WNBA is 60 million dollars. So much talent seems to go to waste because so many girls dont get drafted since theres not enough space in the league. Heres the thing: the WNBA is not nearly as profitable as the NBA. As Mark Tatum, NBA deputy commissioner, says, The league and its teams are committed to an open and good-faith negotiation that is rooted in the financial realities of our business., The pushback on that, and one of the more prominent arguments utilized by those who advocate for higher WNBA salaries, is that the NBA doesnt promote the womens league enough. 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. Answer (1 of 2): The WNBA is heavily subsidized by the NBA; but for this fact, the WNBA would have folded a long time ago. Until then, women basketball players should perhaps look for markets that place greater value on their skill. However, that is not going to happen. Im sorry, the WNBA is awful compared to the NBA. Yet, ESPN is constantly promoting the WNBA, as is their right. In 2020 the WNBA saw all meaningful metricssocial media impressions, TV ratings, merchandise salesskyrocket during its bubble season, and just months after the players signed a new . This is much less than what it is reported the top NBA referees are being paid. The NBA players are jumping form the free throw line and doing windmill dunks, while the WNBA has dunked 22 times in league history. All rights reserved. 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. Members of the U . Of course, a bump to 50 percent of WNBA league revenue isnt realistic, because theres a difference between revenue and profit. All rights reserved. Thats why most women play their time in the league rather than right after they play overseas, so its a year-round thing. Of course, they won't talk about how the stadiums are empty and nobody cares. 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 . Many. As women, we have to fight," Diggins-Smith told Bleacher Report. Reaction: Raymond Moore and THOSE comments Get down on your knees lady players! Are just out why wnba players should be paid more for the results, and the WNBA time on TV means fans! 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