There are many differences between the NBA and WNBA; however, salaries are the one difference that the gap is very evident.
NBA: Team Salary Cap- $58 million
NBA: Team Salary Cap- $58 million
The average salary in the NBA is just over $3 million per year, but
totals vary depending on how many years they have been in the league. The minimum salary for a rookie in the 2010-11 season is $473,604. Elite players make $10 million to $15 million per year, with Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant having the highest salary in 2010-11.
In the United States, professional women’s basketball players make significantly less than men’s players. The minimum salary for a WNBA player in 2011 is $35,880, with the maximum $103,500 for a six-year veteran who qualifies for a maximum contract. The average salary for a WNBA player is $69,690 for the 2011 season.
“People ask how I spend my off-season from the WNBA,” says Chastity Melvin, a forward for the Cleveland Rockers who is playing in Gdinya, Poland. “In some ways, the WNBA is the off-season. The fall and winter is when most of us make our real money.”
Professional women basketball players also have the option of playing oversees in European leagues. There players can make double what they make in the WNBA ($150,000) and the season is much longer as well (6 months). Players like Maya Moore (pictured above) play in both leagues.
-Tony Fritsch
I think that this is a really good topic to talk about and seeing these numbers to me is crazy. The WNBA's salary cap is less than what most NBA players make individually. I always knew that the WNBA didn't make nearly as much, but putting it into perspective with numbers makes it much clearer. Even rookies in the NBA make more than a WNBA player who has been in the league over six years. Women in the WNBA have to have other jobs or ways to make money because they are not making enough in what is supposed to be their career. I think one thing that would help to increase the WNBA’s player salaries is if they received more advertising. I hardly ever see any commercials for the next WNBA game, but rather I always see commercials for the NBA. If women received more advertising, I think more people may watch it, which in turn would increase the revenue coming into the league.
ReplyDeleteHeather Cox