politics
On Monday, the Indiana Fever chosen Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick within the WNBA draft, culminating years of pleasure surrounding the previous Iowa guard and potentially ushering in a brand new era for skilled women's basketball.
Clark's historic run at Iowa and her dynamic skillset are helping to draw more fans to the game than ever before. But with this extra attention comes a brand new realization for a lot of: WNBA players not only make less money than their NBA counterparts, they really make significantly less.
Clark's base salary will probably be fair $76,535 as a newcomer. The first player chosen on this yr's NBA Draft is predicted to hit around 100% 10.5 million dollars.
The disagreement sparked a wave of consternation on social media, and that excitement reached those in power this week.
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, the only The former Division I athlete in Congress said in a post on X this week that the pay gap is “outrageous.” She called for motion to “close” the gender pay gap.
President Joe Biden also spoke out.
“But right now we see that women are not getting their fair share, even when they are the best,” Biden said in a single post to X. “It’s time we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and make sure women get what they deserve.”
Clark's rise and her battles with other recently drafted stars like LSU's Angel Reese and South Carolina's Kamilla Cardoso coincided with a large increase in viewership for the NCAA women's tournament. According to data, an incredible 18.9 million viewers watched the championship game through which Cardoso's Gamecocks defeated Clark's Hawkeyes ESPN.
The last quarter-hour of the sport saw a peak of 24.1 million viewers. It was the most-watched women's college basketball game of all time and the most-watched college basketball game ESPN has ever shown, no matter gender. It drew more viewers across all networks than some other annual sporting event outside of football since 2019. According to ESPN, viewership increased 90% in comparison with last yr.
This dynamic was transferred to the WNBA draft, which drew 2.446 million viewers, a 307% increase in viewership over last yr. After The Fever selected Clark, the franchise's ticket prices skyrocketed. The fever is over last season with a dismal 13 wins and 27 losses. According to information, the highest 10 costliest WNBA games of the approaching season are all Fever games Forbes.
Could this result in higher salaries for WNBA players overall? That could change into clear in 2025, when the league looks to barter a brand new TV cope with broadcast partners. More fans and a bunch of young, bankable superstars would likely give the league a greater position on the negotiating table. The WNBA has made its breakthrough most-watched regular season for 21 years and had the best total attendance in 13 years. The WNBA and NBA currently have a joint contract with Disney's ESPN. WNBA officials are reportedly hoping so break it down among the media rights from the NBA, with the goal of receiving as much as $100 million per season from broadcast partners.
WNBA players are also expected to opt out of their current collective bargaining agreement in 2025. This way they may have the ability to barter something different Division of revenue Agreement. Players take home a portion of the league's revenue, meaning that as the worth of the league increases, players earn extra money.
In the NBA, players can receive 50% of all shared revenue. But within the WNBA, players only receive 50% of “additional revenue,” a term defined as revenue above the league’s goal for that season. Ultimately, about 40% of all NBA league revenue goes to player salaries, in comparison with about 10% of league revenue that goes to WNBA player salaries. Vox reported.
The WNBA's revenue may very well be increased by adding more games and teams. The NBA season is currently about twice so long as the WNBA. The men's league has 30 teams in comparison with the WNBA's 12. That will soon change because the WNBA prepares so as to add two more teams by 2026. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently said that she “pretty confident” within the league’s ability to achieve 16 teams by 2028.
Many WNBA players complement their income by playing overseas within the offseason. “Phoenix Mercury” star Brittney Griner did just that when she was arrested by Russian authorities lasted almost 10 months. In an interview after his return to the United States, Griner said quoted The gender pay gap is the explanation many go abroad.
Of course, star players can earn additional money through endorsement deals. According to the study, Clark and Reese had the 2 best name, image and likeness rankings (NIL) for female basketball players during their college careers AP. Clark's previous contract with Nike ended when she left Iowa, but the corporate is reportedly preparing to supply her one latest eight-figure promoting contract and a signature shoe.
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan is looking for “closing the gender pay gap” between players within the WNBA and NBA. Do you agree?
image credit : www.boston.com