Are WNBA players underpaid? Where the debate stands
By Christian Farrar
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1996 as the female counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA). Through the years the league never really gained the traction that they had originally expected. With the recent wage gap debate, the question has emerged; should WNBA players make as much as their male counterparts?
Throughout the history of the United States of America, women have been fighting for equality. Under the law, men and women are equal but as we’ve seen law and action are completely different. In 2018 it was estimated that the average woman only makes 82 cents for every dollar a man makes working full time. This among other things has led to feminists everywhere searching for answers and action. Among these people are the women of the WNBA.
The average salary of a WNBA player is $100,658.51 while the average salary of an NBA player is roughly $7.7 million. The average NBA player makes Almost 77 times more than a WNBA player. These statistics are quite shocking when you read them straight up. The truth of the matter is the WNBA only brings in annual value of $25 million, the NBA brings in $7.4 billion per year. The NBA brings in 296 times more money annually than the WNBA.
The issue with this whole situation revolves around the fact that WNBA is not very popular. The ratings are consistently low and the viewers are much lower than most of the other televised sports. Low views lead to low revenue. The athletes can’t be paid with non-existent money. In fact, according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the WNBA loses around $10 million a year. Only half of the teams in the WNBA are bringing in a profit.
There is a disparity between the way the WNBA and the NBA works. For example, the NBA splits their annual income 50/50 with the players, while the WNBA only offers 22% of their revenue to the players. The women’s players also do not receive any money from their jersey sales, while men do. The reason for the split once again has to do with the WNBA’s lack of funding, the WNBA has to take a larger cut to keep the WNBA running in the first place.
Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith is one of the players upset about this saying “But we don’t even make the same percentage of the revenue! And jersey sales…we don’t get any of it, the men do. And I have had a top-five jersey for three or four years in the WNBA.” This frustration is common amongst players.
Many WNBA players have grown frustrated with the salary differential between the Men and the Women. Stars Sue Bird, Britney Griner, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and countless others have used their platforms to speak up on the issue. “We should get paid more I don’t know where it is supposed to come from that is not my job. That is somebody else’s job, but we should definitely get paid more there is no reason why we should have to go overseas to make a living… All we hear is that it is going to get better and we are working on it… So, what is happening? Because we do not see it in our paychecks.” Griner said.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter spoke on the disparities the WNBA faces saying “Michael Jordan’s “flu game” is famous for so many reasons, yet Skylar Diggins-Smith’s playing her entire 2018 season pregnant only led to her getting flak for taking the 2019 season off, because of postpartum depression, so she could return mentally and physically. In the NBA, we adopted a rule in the 2019–2020 season to have a mental health professional on staff. The WNBA doesn’t have this rule. Here are these women, playing the same sport we are, receiving less than we do. And not just in pay — it’s about being seen as an athlete, regardless of gender.” These athletes need fair treatment from their league before any other steps can be made.
When you look at it, the only true remedy to the issue is to stop comparing the WNBA to the NBA. They are both basketball but they are on two entirely different levels. Yes the WNBA needs our support, but The NBA has a tremendous headstart on the WNBA and it’s just not a fair assessment to pin the two leagues against each other. The WNBA is filled with talented players and the game is evolving. But aside from the fact that it is organized basketball, the similarities end there.
The WNBA is heavily underrated though, and if people would give it a chance they might see how exciting it is. From a fundamental basketball aspect, the women play the game the right way. They compete and play extremely hard while using an assortment of skills and basketball IQ to put the ball in the basket. Instead of relying on extreme athleticism, brute strength, and size they just hoop. So instead of arguing the wage gap between the men and the women, the real change needs be giving these women more exposure. Television networks need to show more games and they need a chance to show everybody what they are missing.