For a long time, WNBA players have claimed that their pay is unfair, that they deserve to be paid more like their male counterparts in the NBA.
Both of these organizations have the same arenas, represent the same cities, and market to the same regional fan bases, according to my observations.
But…
The NBA is 75 years old, while the WNBA is only 25 years old. The WNBA is 50 years behind in terms of establishing a brand and resolving labor issues. WNBA players want what NBA players have been chasing for decades.
We can simply ignore the cultural devaluation and limited opportunities for women when discussing the differences.
The NBA players earn more than the WNBA players because the WNBA does not generate enough interest or revenue to support a pay structure comparable to that of the men’s game.
Because the NBA casts such a large shadow, the WNBA’s season runs from July to October. For the average sports fan, the league is almost meaningless.
Diana Taurasi has been dubbed the WNBA’s “Michael Jordan.” Have you ever heard of her?
Let’s dive into this topic and explain why the NBA makes more money than the WNBA.
Why do NBA players make more than WNBA?
Viewership is one of the main reasons for the disparity in revenue between the two leagues. According to Sports Business Journal, each NBA game averages 1.2 million viewers, while WNBA games average less than half that, resulting in a significant revenue disparity.
For example, in 2019, the NBA paid the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) 2.6 billion dollars for the rights for broadcasting basketball games.
Compared to the 25 million dollars ESPN paid the WNBA for the rights to broadcast their games, this is a huge sum.
While the WNBA’s low popularity is due to the stigma associated with female athletes in professional sports, the organization is still young and will hopefully grow in popularity over time.
This stigma exists in the Redwood community as well, as there are typically more fans at boys’ sporting events than girls’.
- The NBA’s average attendance is 17,760, while the WNBA’s average attendance is 6,535.
- The NBA Finals attracted a little over 20 million viewers per game, while the WNBA Finals attracted around 400,000 viewers per game.
- The NBA has 30 teams, while the WNBA only has 12.
- The NBA’s average ticket price has been reported to range from $51 to $89, while the WNBA’s is $17.
According to Sports Media Watch, NBA games average 2 million TV viewers per game, while WNBA games averaged 246,000 viewers during the 2019 regular season (ignoring the pandemic-affected 2020 season). And that’s a 7 percent increase.
The NBA’s annual revenue is $7.92 billion, while the WNBA’s is $60 million — not enough to cover NBA players Kevin Love and Damian Lillard’s combined salaries. Revenues, on the other hand, should not be confused with profits.
As a result, the WNBA is a little short on cash. The WNBA has lost an average of $10 million per year since its inception, according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, which the NBA subsidizes out of the goodness of its politically correct heart.
The difference between a season in the WNBA vs NBA
During the regular season, there are a total of 1230 NBA games. If each series is limited to seven games, there are a total of 105 playoff games.
There are 204 matchups between teams in a WNBA season. Each team plays a total of 34 games, four against in-conference opponents and three against non-conference opponents.
If each series is limited to five games, 35 postseason games could be played.
The problem with CBA between NBA & WNBA
The WNBA clearly lacks the financial resources to pay its players salaries comparable to those in the NBA. While the wages cannot be equal, WNBA players should be compensated more.
This could be accomplished by paying WNBA players a similar percentage of the league’s revenue. NBA players currently receive 50% of the league’s revenue, while WNBA players receive only 20% of the revenue.
The average WNBA player would earn just over 200,000 dollars if they were paid 50 percent of the league’s revenue.
According to Forbes, this is comparable to the NBA average during the league’s 25th season in 1970-71. (the WNBA is currently entering its 26th season). A positive solution to the current wage disparity would be to match this ratio.
Which brings us to this point: The average NBA salary is around $7.5 million; according to the league, the average WNBA salary in 2019 was about $116,000, but a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement) — which runs from 2020 to 2027 — provides a 53 percent pay increase.
It also provides full-time maternity leave, $5,000 for child care, and up to $60,000 for adopting a child, surrogacy, and fertility therapies. The CBA raises base salaries to $130,000, with the league’s top players earning up to $500,000.
Because of the NBA’s growing popularity, the average salary increased dramatically in the years following its 25th season.
A decade later, the NBA saw a huge pay increase, with the average player’s salary rising to $180,000, which is equivalent to just over $550,000 today.
This demonstrates that if the WNBA is willing to pay its players a higher percentage of total league revenue while maintaining its economic growth, profits will rise, and the wage gap will likely narrow.
What can be done to increase WNBA salaries?
The WNBA’s management and marketing could be improved.
According to researcher Panorov, telling stories about NBA players’ accomplishments can influence fan perception and encourage more people to watch the players’ games (2015).
Based on this discovery, one possible solution could be to publicize the players’ accomplishments, which could help to expand the WNBA’s fan base and increase game viewership.
The WNBA season should be extended.
According to the findings, increasing the number of games played and the number of points scored could help WNBA players earn more money.
The WNBA season is currently 34 games long, running from May to October; by comparison, the NBA season is 82 games long, running from the last week of October to April the following year.
To influence WNBA players’ salaries positively, we recommend extending the season beyond the summer.
Updating the revenue-share model
With the WNBA receiving only 20% in the past and possibly 34% in the years ahead until 2027, the salary of WNBA players can be increased by increasing the percentage of WNBA league revenue that is paid to them. As a result, we propose reorganizing the WNBA’s current revenue-sharing model to help close the wage gap between the NBA and WNBA.
Getting the WNBA players to promote the WNBA more
If WNBA players could spend more time on the court and contribute more to the league’s promotion, their chances of increasing the revenue sharing percentage would improve.
Why this has nothing to do with women’s rights?
For whatever reason, no one wants to admit that some sports translate better than others for both men and women.
Women’s tennis is as popular as, if not more so, than men’s tennis, and women’s gymnastics is far more popular than men’s gymnastics.
However, women’s basketball, whether at the college or professional level, is not one of them (the average attendance for NCAA basketball in the 2018-19 season was 1,625 for Division I women and 5,650 for Division I men).
The LPGA golfers face the same difficulties. The prize money on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour is vastly different.
The latter does not generate the same revenue or interest level as the men’s game (quick, name five of the best LPGA players). It may not be equitable, but it is the truth.
The fact that women’s sports were late to the game hasn’t helped matters. It may seem absurd now, but women’s high school sports were largely non-existent only 50 years ago.
Women weren’t permitted to compete in events longer than 800 meters until the 1972 Olympics when the 1,500-meter run was thrown to the schedule; in the meantime, men competed in events longer than 800 meters, including the 3,000-meter steeplechase, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and the marathon. The Olympics did not create a marathon for women until 1984.
It took decades to overcome such antiquated thinking, and women’s sports have been catching up ever since. That’s where the WNBA is in its search for a place in the American sports scene (and higher pay).
Men’s athletics were undeniably given a head start in American society. This advantage has given the NBA more time to grow its fan base, which has resulted in increased revenue.
Although it is financially impossible for WNBA players’ salaries to be equal at this time, the WNBA should strive to make the pay ratio proportional. With higher salaries, the WNBA will be able to develop its organization and match the NBA’s financial success over time.
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