Topics: Michael Jordan, Steph Curry , NBA
One of the biggest names in basketball has offered their support for a new WNBA pay structure, as protests continue among players.
WNBA players recently wore t-shirts before their All-Star game to protest the pay gap and different contracts for men and women basketball players. Their message said: 'Pay us what you owe us', aimed at highlighting the inferior agreement for WNBA players when it has to earning extra revenue compared to NBA contracts which guarantee more income from league profits.
Female players are also paid considerably less than their male counterparts, with rookie contracts starting at $72,000 per year, and only a limited number of players per team are able to earn the highest amounts of $250,000 per year.
Players are able to earn more from other leagues and competitions during the WNBA off-season as well as lucrative endorsements, yet these still pale in comparison to what NBA players can similarly earn.
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For example, WNBA star Angel Reese made headlines when she claimed she could not afford her $96,000 annual rent on her $72,000 salary, with her other sponsorships and earnings from other competitions needed to support her outgoings.
She said (via ESPN): “I just hope y’all know the WNBA don’t pay my bills at all. I don’t even think that pays one of my bills, [the salary] isn't enough to pay my car note, I wouldn’t even be able to eat, I wouldn’t be able to live. I'm living beyond my means!"
“Being able to play for what, four to five months, and get $75,000 on top of the other endorsements that I’m doing, I think it’s a plus for me," she added, making clear she knew she was in a privileged position. “Being able to make six figures within three months [in Unrivaled], being able to be housed in Miami, just being able to get better …. I think it’s amazing.”
The pay gap issue has been thrust into the limelight thanks to the WNBA All-Star protest, with NBA legend Steph Curry previously lending support to his WNBA colleagues. He wrote in the Players’ Tribune in 2018: “I think it’s important that we all come together to figure out how we can make that possible, as soon as possible. Not just as ‘fathers of daughters,’ or for those sorts of reasons.
"And not just on Women’s Equality Day. Every day – that’s when we need to be working to close the pay gap in this country. Because every day is when the pay gap is affecting women. And every day is when the pay gap is sending the wrong message to women about who they are, and how they’re valued, and what they can or cannot become.”
And now Jasmine Jordan, daughter of all-time great Michael Jordan, has voiced her support for the cause. She followed comments by current WNBA star Kelsey Plum, who advocated for a larger share of WNBA revenues for players. Jordan is a key figure in the Jordan Brand and has over 165,000 followers on social media, so her sharing of Plum's comments on Instagram represents a significant show of support, according to Essentially Sports.
Plum had said: "We're not asking to get paid what the men get paid. We're asking to get paid the same percentage of revenue shared."
It is thought NBA players collectively get 50 per cent of NBA revenues, while WNBA players only get as much as 25 per cent.
The average WBNA salary is $116,000 compared to $7.5 million for male players.
