Katie Lou Samuelson had the perfect shoes to mark the anniversary of Title IX. Before the Sparks’ home game against the Chicago Sky on June 23, Samuelson unwrapped white tissue paper from a black shoe box to reveal his pair of custom-decorated Puma sneakers.
“Paying female athletes” Samuelson’s shoes proclaimed in bold white letters on a black background.
The sneakers featured branding for the Title IX anniversary on the back of the left shoe as well as Brittney Griner’s initials and No. 42 jersey on the right.
The Phoenix Mercury Center detention and conviction in Russia for cannabis possession has become a symbol of the pay equity problem plaguing the WNBA, where even stars like Griner – WNBA champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time All-Star – travel to the abroad during their WNBA offseason for salaries worth more than four or five times what they make at home.
International leagues, created decades before the 26-year-old WNBA, have long been a financial lifeline for American players who spend five months in front of crowds in their home countries then jet off for seven-year seasons. months in Turkey, Spain, Russia, China or Australia. .
Exotic locations and massive salaries come at the expense of attending major events like weddings and birthdays or spending time with loved ones, not to mention the added wear and tear on a player’s body.
A look at Sparks forward Katie Lou Samuelson’s basketball shoes with “Pay Women Athletes” written.
(Sportswire Icon / Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
Samuelson, who also plays in Spain, can imagine a future for the WNBA when players aren’t as forced to play overseas, but that’s far from the case. The WNBA regular season is likely to last longer than four or five months. The squad should increase from 12 players. Wages should be increased.
Steps to close the wage gap start with growing the WNBA, a responsibility shared by the league, players and agents.
“As women in sports, we have to play the long game,” said Allison Galer, whose client list at her agency Disrupt the Game includes the Sparks’ Chiney Ogwumike, Washington forward Elizabeth Williams and rookie forward title of the year Michaela Onyenwere.
Increases in television audiences and merchandise sales indicate that the WNBA is growing in popularity. This is a recent boom, originating in Bradenton, Florida, where the WNBA held its pandemic bubble season in 2020. This disastrous year had a glimmer of hope for the WNBA. Viewership for the WNBA Finals increased by 15% compared to the previous year while almost every other league saw a significant drop in viewership. Off the field, shameless player advocacy For Breonna Taylor, Black Lives Matter and voting rights reinforced the WNBA’s image as a leader in social justice.
Many companies are championing diversity, equity and inclusion in the wake of 2020, which is expected to make the WNBA and its players prime targets for sponsorship deals from brands looking to connect with a younger demographic , digitally savvy and predominantly female.
“We are the league that says walk the talk,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
Cathy Engelbert, speaking to the media during the 2020 WNBA Finals, became league commissioner in 2019 with the goal of growing the league into a thriving business.
(Associated Press)
An often repeated statistic from Women in Sport indicates that only 0.4% of total sports sponsorship between 2011 and 2013 went to women. This small group is generally dominated by athletes who shine in individual sports.
Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams were the only female athletes in Forbes top 50 this year Osaka, 24, being the highest paid female athlete in the world. His estimated total earnings of $59.2 million ranked 19th, and $58 million came from out-of-court deals. Williams earned $45 million of her $45.3 million off the field and ranked 31st.
The highest-earning female athlete has been a tennis player every year since Forbes began tracking the data in 1990, reinforcing an ecosystem that undervalues women in team sports, Engelbert said.
“Before we’re done,” she added, “we’re going to change the failing valuation model.”
The WNBA is valued at more than $1 billion, a spike driven by a recent $75 million capital raise. The cash from two dozen investors was the largest capital raise ever for a women’s sports property.
The money will be deployed over three to five years, Engelbert said. It is intended for brand elevation and marketing; the globalization of the WNBA; innovation and growth of consumer touchpoints; and human capital and operational optimization, according to a league release announcing the transaction.
Where this is wrong is with player salaries.
Although the Collective agreement 2020 obtained several advantages like average six-figure salaries, higher salaries for star players and fully paid maternity leaveplayers still need to ensure equal revenue sharing.
WNBA players are only guaranteed a 50-50 revenue share if the league meets prescribed but undisclosed goals. The WNBA had an estimated revenue of $60 million in 2018, according to Forbes. The NBA, 50 years older, took in $7.4 billion that year and made $10 billion in revenue this year.
The dual task of raising revenue and changing the CBA, which runs through 2027, makes it unlikely that increasing player salaries will be the next domino to fall in the CBA’s fight for pay equity. WNBA.
“Everybody wants to go straight to the salary,” said Samuelson, a former No. 4 overall selection who played on four teams during her four years in the WNBA. “But there are so many different things that also need to act as stepping stones before that happens.”
Besides rising salaries, players point to issues such as a lack of charter flights — especially during this compressed season when teams often play games every other day — or training facilities. The Sparks have split their practice time between three venues this season: a rental gym in Torrance, USC’s Galen Center and Crypto.com Arena, where they also play games.
Sparks forward Katie Lou Samuelson hits a three-pointer during a game against the Phoenix Mercury.
(Courtesy of LA Sparks)
The top foreign leagues meet these off-field requirements. Not only are players paid well, but they compete in elite competition while honing their skills. Developmental opportunities are especially important for young players who have limited playing time in the WNBA, which does not have practice squads or a development league. The richest teams, including Griner’s UMMC Ekaterinburg, controlled by two Russian oligarchs, are known for setting up their players with their own apartments, private car services and luxury travel accommodations.
But opportunities to play overseas are dwindling, Galer said. She believes no agent will send an American player to Russia, given Griner’s detention, the war in Ukraine and the Euroleague’s suspension of top Russian teams UMMC Ekaterinburg, Dynamo Kursk and MBA Moscow. COVID-19 has also crippled the overseas market.
With the WNBA’s salaries stagnating, “there’s a lot more weight on sponsorships and brand partnerships,” Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said.
Recreating the sponsorship model for WNBA players requires intense, intentional brand-building efforts on the part of individual player agents and the league. On his first day as commissioner in 2019, Engelbert said the WNBA had a “marketing problem.” To help solve this problem, it attempted to encourage players to remain in the United States during the offseason in exchange for league marketing agreements providing compensation for their participation in advertising campaigns with the WNBA’s partners. .
The hope is to turn players such as reigning league most valuable player Jonquel Jones and WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper into household names. But those stars played overseas last year, with Jones playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, the same club as Griner. Copper was named MVP of Spain’s top league and the Euroleague.
The marketing money offered by the WNBA can’t yet make up the difference of an overseas contract that pays $10,000 to $15,000 a month.
“Is it better for the players to be here for marketing purposes? Of course,” Galer said. “But the pot doesn’t necessarily increase for each player if they stay here.”
Engelbert said she would never close off overseas opportunities for players, but wanted them to prioritize the WNBA and for the league to make it financially profitable. Standing behind a lectern during All-Star weekend, Engelbert celebrated the progress made in the latter.
At a press conference in Chicago during the league’s mid-season flagship event, the commissioner announced that an additional $1.5 million would be available for players from the pool. league marketing agreements. Charter flights to the WNBA Finals were on their way. The playoff bonus pool increased by about 50% to $500,000.
“We’re just trying to distance ourselves,” she said at the event.
Engelbert repeated that phrase when describing the WNBA’s journey toward pay equity. No one can simply solve the problem with a sweeping statement, but recent progress allows the commissioner, players and agents to look toward a bright future.
Nneka Ogwumike said she hoped “it won’t take much longer to see the minimum wage reach six figures.”
And Engelbert is already scouting cities for potential expansion teams that would launch in 2024 or 2025.
“We’re only going up from here,” Galer said. “We just have to build it.”
