For several decades, equal pay in women’s sport has been a controversial subject. Figures such as Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and the United States Women’s National Team have fought for equal pay in their sports, with some even achieving equal pay, but they deserve it -they ?
Although many people think they should have equal pay because they can perform as well as men and are entertaining, the reality is that men’s sports generate higher revenue, play longer than men female athletes and have higher skills than female athletes. So, female athletes should not receive equal pay to male athletes until they deserve it.
The demand for equal pay for female athletes seems legitimate.
According to ESPN, they argue that female athletes deserve equal pay because they achieve the same or better statistical results than male athletes. ESPN compares NBA basketball player Anthony Davis and WNBA basketball player Nneka Ogwumike, who are both six-time All-Stars and were both the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and the WNBA.
Davis and Ogumike both posted similar numbers. Davis had 0.247 win shares per 48 minutes during the 2018-19 NBA season and Ogwumike had 0.248 win shares per 48 minutes during his 2019 WNBA season.
Win from sharing is a type of statistic that shows the impact and success a player has brought to their team. From these statistics, many might believe that female and male athletes should be paid equally due to a nearly identical stat line that shows equivalent performance.
Others also argue that female athletes should have equal pay because they are as entertaining as male athletes.
Audience data from FIFA said that more than a billion people were watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019. The match is also the second most-watched soccer match in U.S. history and was watched more by viewers Americans than the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With statistics showing they can perform as well or better than male athletes and entertain American audiences, it’s no surprise that many are advocating for the equal pay for female athletes.
However, professional sport is not just entertainment and a showcase of sporting performance; it’s also a business. If a league has high revenue, it can afford to pay more money to players and teams.
Comparing NBA and WNBA revenues according to The Global Sports Network, the NBA made $7.4 billion in revenue while the WNBA made $60 million in revenue during the 2019 season. Not all revenue goes to the sports league; it is also distributed to all players. Of the $7.4 billion the NBA generates, NBA players receive at least 53% of the revenue generated.
The WNBA generated $60 million in revenue and distributed $12.3 million in league revenue for players.
The number of games played in a season is also a factor in the revenue a league can generate. Over an entire NBA season, 1,230 games are plays in the regular season and 105 playoff games are plays at most if each series is played in seven games. In an entire WNBA season, there are 204 games plays and a maximum of 35 playoff games if played a maximum of five games.
It’s very clear why NBA players make more money than WNBA players: they simply generate more revenue. If WNBA players demand a higher salary that would match the NBA, the league wouldn’t be able to afford it because the WNBA simply doesn’t bring in the same amount of money as the NBA.
This simple calculation clearly shows why female athletes cannot realistically be paid the same as their male counterparts.
Although some women’s sports attract considerable interest, in general, women’s sports have lower viewership than men’s sports, which is part of the reason they make less money.
THE NBA is broadcast in 96 countries while the WNBA is broadcast in 24 countries. WSN also collected data on NBA and WNBA team participation. During the 2018 WNBA season, average attendance was approximately 6,768 people and tickets cost an average of $17.42. The NBA’s average attendance was about 18,000, nearly three times as much, and tickets cost an average of $89, about four times as much.
“(The Liberty) didn’t make any money,” said James Dolan, former owner of the WNBA team New York Liberty and current owner of the New York Knicks. the Washington Post. “His chances of making money, then and even today, are still slim. »
Not only does women’s sports have lower viewership in basketball, it also has lower viewership in tennis.
During the 2019 Wimbledon women’s final, it had an average audience of 1.7 and 2.44 million viewers, with Simona Halep and Serena Williams facing off on ESPN, and Halep beating Williams, according to Sports media monitoring. By comparing the audience, SMW also stated that the 2019 The Wimbledon men’s final averaged 3.83 million viewers and a 2.7 rating on ESPN, as viewers watched Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer face off, with Djokovic winning the duel.
“I think our men’s tennis world, the ATP world, should fight for more because the statistics show that we have many more spectators at men’s tennis matches,” Djokovic » said in response to the fact that female tennis players receive equal pay.
With the statistics presented, the viewership of men’s sports is simply much higher.
The skills gap between male and female athletes is also a factor why female athletes should not receive equal pay. If you put Tier 1 men’s singles and women’s singles tennis players side by side, who would win?
A statistics tracker for tennis known as Universal tennis ranking creates a rating based on the skill of the player’s opponent and the number of sets played. The highest rated male player in the UTR is Rafael Nadal with a rating of 15.95 and the highest rated player is Naomi Osaka with a rating of 13.40.
When comparing the ratings there is a rating difference of 2.55, not only is this disappointing but the top 5 male tennis players under 18 all have a higher rating than Osaka.
Female athletes aren’t as good at soccer either: the USWNT lost to an under-15 (U-15) team from Dallas FC in 2017, with a score of 5-2, according to the Independent from Northeastern Illinois University. The USWNT not only lost to the U-15 team, but to the USMNT U-17 team with a score of 8-2 as well.
These results are surprising to someone because you would think that a World Cup and Olympic winning team should be able to beat a team of children under 17 years old.
Why should female athletes receive equal pay when they are rated lower and can’t beat younger male athletes?
It’s clear why female athletes don’t deserve equal pay. There is possible evidence as to why female athletes should be paid equally, but when it comes to statistics and comparing their sporting performance, viewership, and revenue generation to that of men, it does not There is no doubt that they should not be paid equally for unequal performance.
