Insubstantial Salaries: How the WNBA is Pushing Female Athletes Abroad


     WNBA star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February for possession of vape cartridges containing hashish oil. Nneka Ogwumike, the head of the WNBA players union told ABC’s Good Morning America, “the reality is, she’s over there because of a gender issue – pay inequality.”

Sadly, the gender pay gap is old news in America. In 2020, the annual winnings for women were 82.3% of what men earned. In the 2022-23 season, the average NBA salary is $5.4 million, compared to $120,600 for the WNBA. The average NBA player makes 44 times as much as the average WNBA player.

In this year’s draft, the number one pick for the WNBA was University of Kentucky star Rhyne Howard who was selected by the Atlanta Dream. She’ll be paid according to the league’s rookie pay scale, which states the first four picks will receive three-years contracts worth $226,668: $75,556 annual salary. The NBA’s number 1 pick, Paolo Banchero was picked by the Orlando Magic for a four-year contract worth $50,158,769: $12,539,692 annual salary.

There are 8 players in the WNBA with salaries less than $10,000, including Mercury’s Kaela Davis who makes a measly $1,607 a year. The lowest-paid NBA player, Ishmail Wainright from the Phoenix Suns earns a total of $633,891 in the 2022-23 season. Both the WNBA and NBA have salary caps in place; the WNBA caps it at $228,094 and the NBA at $123,655 million.

While the NBA had a 51-year head start to become a global marketing goliath, the WNBA does not have a collective bargaining agreement like the NBA currently upholds, splitting income 50-50 between players and owners. To earn more money, WNBA players go overseas to countries such as Russia where they make 5 to 8 times more money than they do in the WNBA. Liz Cambage told ESPN, “It’s hard when you have ‘the best league in the world,’ but we’re not treated like the best athletes in the world.” WNBA players often consider the WNBA season their “off-season” and their time in other countries during their actual season, where they make enough money to support their families.

The push for equal pay extends to compensating female athletes appropriately. Just this year, U.S. Soccer agreed to pay the men’s and women’s teams equally. WNBA players want an improved collective bargaining agreement and a raise in minimum base salaries.

Can this pay gap be solved the same way as the U.S. Soccer pay gap was resolved earlier this year? How can the WNBA improve salaries and opportunities to eliminate the need to go abroad? Is equal pay possible and fair between the WNBA and NBA?

Comments

  1. Eleni, Rachel, and CharlotteNovember 10, 2022 at 3:21 AM

    Seeing the struggle the US Women's soccer team faced to get equal pay, but then the success and the news being well-recieved nationally should be a motivator for the WNBA to solve their gender pay gap. I think equal pay could be possible, however it would require a lot of effort from the WNBA and support from the NBA. However, having the women's soccee team to model off of, it would be possible to achieve.

    --Charlotte Budge

    ReplyDelete
  2. Women in BusinessNovember 10, 2022 at 5:04 AM

    I believe that equal pay is possible between the WNBA and NBA, however it will take a long time to achieve. The reason why NBA players have higher salaries is because their leagues are more popular than the women leagues. They also have bigger companies that invest in them for sponsorships, so it makes that they would have more money to give the the NBA players. The popularity and fan based for the WNBA would have to grow as well as capital investments to be running at equilibrium.
    - Hannah Sullivan

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  3. Women in BusinessNovember 10, 2022 at 5:10 AM

    I do not think it will be possible for equal pay to be made between the WNBA and the NBA. The pay should be based off of how much each league is generating. Since the NBA makes significantly more than the WNBA, equal pay is not an option. The U.S. soccer gap was able to get resolved because the U.S. women’s team generates more revenue than the men’s team. Since they are bringing in the same amount, if not more profit than the mens team, equal pay was able to be made. However, I do not see this being a possibility for the WNBA.
    -McKenna

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 10, 2022 at 8:06 AM

    Although in theory it would be great if men and woman made the same in professional basketball, I believe it's an unachievable goal. There's no denying that there is indeed a gap between the NBA and the WNBA. However, the reason behind this is because of attendance numbers. If there are fewer people attending WNBA games, ticket sales will be lower, thus lowering salaries for players. Hypothetically, if players in the WNBA were able to get the same viewership that the NBA has, then I'd feel more comfortable getting behind the movement for equal pay.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousNovember 10, 2022 at 9:34 AM

    Unfortunately, equal pay between the WNBA and NBA seems a long way off. There is no question that the WNBA athletes are talented, however, the WNBA does not bring in the viewers and supporters like the NBA does. Without the revenue, players can not be paid as much. It is not necessarily an issue of discrimination, but more of a business deal. Money needs to go toward marketing the women of the WNBA to stir up interest and support. Until the women have the support, the wage gap can not shrink.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pay DayNovember 11, 2022 at 3:45 AM

      I agree the possibility of equal pay is far in the future. Obviously revenue and general interest from the public needs to increase through marketing. Keep in mind, both associations are marketed very differently, mainly because they have different ownership systems. In order to create equality you have to work from the foundation up right? I think there's a way for the NBA to change their title to MNBA (Men's National Basketball Association) and create an overseeing commissioner that links both associations. By placing both associations into a larger overseeing association they can begin to work together as counterparts, marketing and advocating for one another. Being more obviously associated with the NBA would increase interest in the WNBA exponentially.

      Marissa Weiss

      Delete
  6. John BrownNovember 10, 2022 at 8:36 PM

    This is the sad truth. It is crazy the disparity between the salary caps and shocking to say the least. In looking at the numbers, the NBA has been around for longer and have become a multi billion dollar organization. On the other hand, the WNBA started recently with not nearly the same viewership and support. The main reason is because they don't have enough money going into it to support the exponential growth needed to eventually pay women more money. One way to get the WNBA on level with the NBA is to raise awareness, and market themselves which will in turn increase viewers and increase money earned by the players.
    -Sam S

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pete DeAngeloNovember 10, 2022 at 11:02 PM

    Unfortunately, I don't see any time in the near future where we are able to reach an equal pay level playing field. It simply comes down to the popularity and amount of views or revenue the different leagues bring in. If the WMBA had the same or more people going to games, buying merchandise, and tuning in every week to watch the game, then the salaries would reflect. I think that it's possible one day that we reach a more even playing field when comparing salaries of the two leagues, or even see women in the WNBA making more than some of the men in the NBA. However, that day is a long way away and the WMBA will need to grow substantially before we get there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Team 1November 11, 2022 at 6:29 AM

    The WNBA has definitely been improving its marketing and has gained much more traction and media attention over the last five years. However, I don't see the WNBA players getting paid the same anytime soon. When comparing this situation to the US Women's National Team, it's a lot different as the National Teams get paid by the country and by the same people. In contrast, the NBA and WNBA are two completely different leagues which each earn their own revenues which is why NBA players get so much money while WNBA players don't make enough. I do hope the WNBA continues to grow so that their players can get paid more, but the NBA simply makes too much money in comparison to the WNBA.
    -Hunter

    ReplyDelete
  9. Golf GenuisNovember 14, 2022 at 3:40 AM

    Personally I do not think it is fair that there is such a gap in the wages for both players, but that has nothing to do with the governing bodies who represent the players unless they are keeping money from them. Players in both leagues obtain a share of the profits made from their teams and the fact of the matter is that the male teams bring in a substantially more amount of money than their female counterparts. Not to take away from those female teams as they are still incredible athletes, but there needs to be more done to help leagues like the WNBA generate more to reward their players. We can demand more for sponsorships or salaries, but the owners of these organizations are also here to make a profit and cannot be throwing money around if it does not make sense economically. (Matt)

    ReplyDelete

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