Are Sue Bird and Lebron James so different?
Both have won 4 Championships and are veterans of the leagues: 17 seasons. Why so much difference in salary?
Check this pure data from the 2017 season.
NBA players receive 50 percent of the money the association generates, while WNBA players receive less than half of that amount from their association, at 20 percent.
WNBA players earn substantially less than their male counterparts. The NBA's minimum salary is more than 10 times the WNBA's minimum salary. The NBA's average salary is more than 85 times the amount of the average WNBA salary. The NBA's highest-paid player last season, Stephen Curry, made $37,457,154. The highest-paid player in the WNBA last season, reigning MVP Sylvia Fowles made only $109,000. Curry made more than 343 times the amount Fowles made last season.
Male and female athletes are paid on completely different scales, to the extent that the examples can seem literally incredible. Only one woman was ranked among the 100 highest-paid athletes in the world in 2019, according to Forbes (Serena Williams, ranked 63).
The disparity is so great that money attracts skilled men to athletic careers, while lack of money makes it impossible for many talented women to earn a living as athletes.
The pay gap between male and female athletes reflects the huge income gap between male and female sports.
We need to consider these factors: "Have the investments been the same? Has the commitment been the same? Is the allocation of the best talent happening to think of ways to increase fan engagement, innovation, or player experience?"
There are differences in investments (private or public), potential audience, followers, sponsorships, and sports media. This is undoubted. Perhaps we should emphasize the fact that in some male's sport the amount of money circulating and the salaries of the players are too high. There is no very sustainable system.
However, that cycle may be broken right now, because female athletes are changing business terms in two of the world's biggest sports.
The biggest lesson: today's athletes are asking for something even bigger than the strict definition of "pay equity" and they deserve it. They want a piece of the action.
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