Why Wnba Players Should Get Paid Just as Much as Nba Playhers

Taylor Nicole Lewis        

English 101

Mr. Trudore

22 August 2016

                        Why the WNBA Can Not Raise Salaries

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is the sister organization of the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA players are known for their big paychecks, but WNBA players are highlighted as barely making a living off their paychecks. Maurice Garland mentions that when a young woman gets drafted into the WNBA there is a possibility that her family will start showing up to help out with finances. If the WNBA continues with low salaries for players, the league may become obsolete. The average WNBA player’s salary is 51,000 dollars a season. The highest paid WNBA players such as Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings make about $750,000 to one million dollars playing overseas. This includes endorsements. A rookie in the NBA, at the minimum, gets paid $950,000, without endorsements. It is obviously clear that WNBA players have never reached the salaries of NBA players. Although WNBA players deserve higher salaries, the WNBA as a league cannot afford to raise the salaries right now.  WNBA teams are not profitable, or stable, and they do not have enough media coverage to raise the players’ salaries at this time.

Even though WNBA players have proven over and over again that they are the best players in the world (2016 Rio Olympics), their annual salaries do not show that they are the best. The players can barely afford to support themselves on their salaries. After all the effort and time that WNBA players put into the game they love, they should not have to worry about how they are going to pay their bills. WNBA players should not have to put extra stress on their bodies by playing in foreign leagues to make extra money. “’If you're not coaching or doing something with your team in the U.S., you're overseas playing,’ said the Indiana Fever's Tamika Catchings, who has played abroad for eight of her 10 years in the WNBA.”(Steele)Tamika Catching also mentions that some of her teammates would be playing overseas just days after their WNBA season ended. Catchings, 32, played in Istanbul for a couple of off seasons. She missed a season overseas because of an injury. Catchings makes the WNBA maximum of $105,000, and is one of few WNBA players that can afford to sit out a season. She has a Nike endorsement deal that also helps pay the bills (Steele). Most players are not as fortunate as Catchings. Most WNBA players will have to take up a “normal” 9-5 job after their professional basketball career ends. WNBA salaries should be raised, to give the best players in the world financial stability in their lives.

        Most of the WNBA teams are not profitable and the league is in its 20th season. The WNBA is not one of the major leagues in America today (NFL/MLB/NBA/NHL). The Minnesota Lynx reported a profit in 2013 of $1 million and is one of the only franchises to do so (Lee).Under the current marketing structure most franchises have not reported such profits. Even though most WNBA teams are working toward becoming profitable, that is still not a good reason for the WNBA to increase spending right away (Lee). If the league as a whole is not making money, then every team cannot make a profit. The league is showing signs of growth, but it is just not there yet with support from different markets.

In order for WNBA players to find financial stability, the league must become stable. The league needs a “period of time where there is no expansion or relocation of teams to other markets” (Lee). There cannot be any teams closing up shop (Lee). The current WNBA President, Laurel Richie, has not showed any interest in expanding past the 12 teams that already exist. However, there have been other markets reach out to form teams, such as Sacramento.  Richie not wanting to expand gives those 12 franchises time to grow, which will lead to sponsorships and media contracts-something the WNBA lacks.

        The WNBA does not have a huge media contract in place at this time that would contribute to team revenue. An increase in revenue, is an increase in salaries. Currently the league has a network contract with ESPN that “is worth $12 million dollars per year, which amounts to about $1 million dollars per WNBA team, and runs through the 2022 season”(Lufton and Ourand). The amount of money teams will be receiving from the contract, will not allow them to raise the players’ salaries. The money the teams receive from the media contract should be used to make the WNBA more appealing to different markets. NBA players receive large sums of money, because the NBA has large media contracts (Lee).The WNBA does not have similar contracts, so therefore the league cannot give WNBA players large sums of money. The WNBA should invest the money from their contract with ESPN into marketing strategies, not player salaries. In a statement Maya Moore, star WNBA player, addressed the lack of visibility of the WNBA in the United States. She argued that the WNBA has an amazing product, but is not supported by media (Barnes). Until the WNBA can pull in more sponsorships or television contracts that are worth more than $12 million a year, it cannot be argued that WNBA salaries should be raised.