WNBA Players Make Less Than Their NBA Counterparts — A Lot Less
The biggest names in basketball are going to the WNBA, no longer the NBA, and it's time they get paid similarly.
By Brandon CharlesApr. 17 2024, Published 8:15 a.m. ET
According to Fortune, in 2023, WNBA players made a mean $113,295 base salary, with the best wage in the league a little bit over $241,000. NBA players make a mean of $9.7 million, with the best possible salary coming in at $51.9 million. That base wage is Eighty five occasions more for NBA players. The highest-paid participant is greater than five occasions.
With NCAA players Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese becoming a member of the WNBA, superstars who helped deliver the absolute best scores for any college basketball recreation, many of us are wondering why they aren't paid nearly as much as NBA players. Maybe issues will exchange as soon as other folks see players like Caitlin and Angel in WNBA games. The 2024 WNBA draft featuring the ones players two drew a mean of two.forty five million audience — the most of any WNBA draft and an increase of 307 % in viewership from closing year.
Solely according to financials, WNBA players is also underpaid but so are NBA players.
According to WSN, the WNBA made $60 million in earnings in 2023. The NBA made $10 billion in revenue in 2023. While WNBA players make 85 times not up to NBA players, they must make a hundred ninety occasions much less if their salaries had been equally in line according to league-wide revenue. This isn't an issue to pay WNBA players much less, it’s an argument that each leagues underpay their players.
No topic how you wish to have to do the math, you get paid a lot more to play in the NBA than the WNBA.
If a league generates $10 billion in revenue once a year and the best players in each leagues make more from sponsorships than player wage (LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Caitlin Clark all earn more money from sponsorships and endorsements than their on-court productiveness) something is amiss. It's especially bad in the WNBA. At least no NBA player is taking part in overseas to make more cash.
The WNBA pay makes some of the perfect players play in a foreign country.
Brittney Griner used to be supposed to make $228,000 enjoying in the 12 months WNBA the yr she was once detained in Russia. The Sporting News reported that she was once making $1 million a yr taking part in in Russia.
While maximum WNBA players who additionally play out of the country aren't unjustly imprisoned and made an example, it is telling that the perfect of the easiest have to go away their house country to make what they rightfully deserve.
While basketball fans was hoping WNBA salaries would no less than come as much as part of what the same players make in a foreign country, it simply hasn’t took place yet. The buzz around Caitlin could garner sufficient league-wide pastime to look these athletes get paid what they deserve.
Based on 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament ratings and WNBA 2024 Draft ratings, more other folks than ever are likely to watch 2024 WNBA games. Maybe the increased viewers will boost ad buys, ticket gross sales, and merchandise gross sales. Once the league is pulling in more than $60 million a yr and gets nearer to NBA financials, it's only a matter of time for superstars like Caitlin and Angel to get paid like LeBron and Stephen.
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