Offering a reason to try to explain the economic gap between the WNBA and the NBA may seem like an excuse. You could list many reasons why men earn more than women in sports, particularly in NBA (the leagues that matter to us) and they would all be unfair.
From generating income from one league to another: sponsorship, marketing, increased exposure of men to women in the media, achievements in the national team etc. a lack of spirit that would make anyone regret it; However, in the middle of 2022 it is. Example?
Diana TaurasiThe famous woman “Jordan” is one of the highest-paid players in the WNBA and earns 0.5% of what the highest-paid basketball player in the NBA earns, Stephen Curry.
Let’s translate this disparity into numbers…
In 2022, Taurasi, 40, will expire a two-year contract with Phoenix Mercury for $450,000. In his first season, he earned $221,000 and $228,000 in the second season, while Curry became the highest-paid player in the NBA in 2021 with a contract worth $43 million a year.
And yes, there will be those who would argue that Curry is the best player or the greatest triple in the NBA, okay! Torrassey led Mercury to the titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014, isn’t that enough? Well, she’s also the all-time WNBA points leader.
Mathematically speaking, there seem to be no excuses for the difference between male and female salaries. Now, there are arguments for understanding this situation, which, without a doubt, over time and the evolution of the WNBA tend (or should) improve.
According to the Georgia Pro Information Center, only 1% of college basketball players make it into women’s professional basketball. Therefore, the more professional players there are, the more franchises are created in the WNBA and, accordingly, the more interest from different markets; Then the interest of the sponsors and the public, which are two primary dollar-raising parties, will be more active. It sounds like a simple series, but the virtuous circle, which is currently vicious, can be completed for the benefit of women who have chosen basketball as their professional activity or an important part of it.
Let’s remember that the WNBA currently has 12 teams, since it is a relatively new league. It was created on April 22, 1996 with eight franchises and its first game was in 1997.
(Another) One of the limitations women face in making the leap to professionalism is that they have to earn a 4-year college degree or wait the same time outside of high school to enter the WNBA. This doesn’t happen in the NBA, where players can jump from high school to pro.
To illustrate this gap here is some useful data:
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In 2020, the average salary in the NBA was $6.4 million while in the WNBA the maximum salary was $215,000.
The difference is bad. However, the WNBA will not remain oblivious to changes in the pursuit of equality, in this economic case; Other athletes have already achieved the seemingly impossible, such as the US women’s soccer team, which won on February 22 a lawsuit to receive from the American soccer team the same salary as the men’s team in all friendlies and tournaments, including the King’s Cup. .
“An important step to right the many mistakes of the past,” said the players’ union, USWNTPA (for its English acronym), in one of the first and most powerful moves in favor of equality.