Growing the game: WNBA salaries and NIL’s

The inequalities present in women’s sports, especially their salaries, are getting harder and harder to ignore. The arrival of the 2024 rookie class to the WNBA transformed the league forever. Names such as Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese drew in hundreds of thousands of fans during their college careers, bringing their fan bases to the WNBA with them. Alongside an undeniable increase in viewership and interactions with the league, the players’ salaries have been a major topic of discussion. The viewership the rookie class of 2024 brought to the WNBA has ignited conversations amongst fans that have been amplified on social media platforms to broaden the discussion.

On the off chance you have never heard of Caitlin Clark, she played basketball at the University of Iowa, where she beat the all-time NCAA scoring record and became one of the greatest players in women’s basketball. Clark’s arrival to the Indiana Fever as the number one draft pick transformed the team. The Fever made all six of the most-watched WNBA games thanks to Clark. Besides Clark’s exceptional talent, another factor reigning in viewership is a supposed rivalry between Clark and Reese. Thanks to these factors, Athlon Sports reports that the Fever averages 1.8 million viewers. Only two other finals in WNBA history have achieved this many views.

‘The Caitlin Clark effect’ showed itself in teams’ ticket prices skyrocketing when playing the Fever. Her arrival to the WNBA has been remarkable, and the impact is unmistakable. For her actual contract, Caitlin Clark is being compensated with $76,000 a year for four years. Due to the viewership Clark generates, especially in her last year at Iowa, the salaries even the most popular players make in the WNBA were put into perspective.

In the NBA, first round draft pick Victor Wembayana made $12,160,860 his rookie season playing for the San Antonio Spurs. The NBA obviously receives more profits and viewership, allowing their players to earn a higher salary. To put the earning disparity into an equal ratio perspective, however, Statista reports, WNBA players earn 9.3% of the leagues revenue, whereas NBA players earn around 50% of the leagues revenue.Since $76,000 is among the highest WNBA rookie salaries, how do athletes in the WNBA make money? It is common for WNBA players to have to play overseas after their season is over. The issue with forcing athletes to do this is the potential for injury. Former UConn player Nika Muhl tore her ACL playing overseas shortly after her rookie season.

Name, Image, Likeness deals are a majority of athletes’ revenue. In June 2021, the NCAA started to allow athletes to sign NIL deals to profit off of their own brand. Partnerships athletes form in college can carry over into their career in the WNBA. The current highest earning college athlete is UConn player Paige Bueckers. Bueckers has found success working with brands like Nike, Gatorade, CereVe, Bose and so on, generating around $1.4 million in 2024.

Caitlin Clark has profited off of many brand deals. She signed a historic $28 million dollar contract with Nike in 2024. Clark also made history as the first female athlete to have her own ball collection with Willson. Clark has also successfully partnered with Gatorade, Bose and State Farm, which explains why “Jake” was among the first people to greet her after the draft.

Angel Reese made a name for herself playing at LSU. In her new podcast, “Unapologetically Angel,” she discussed her rookie salary from the Chicago Sky, sharing that her WNBA salary doesn’t even cover her annual rent costs. Reese has successfully defined herself and her brand, making about $1.8 million in NIL deals her senior year at LSU.

Female athletes are not being asked to be paid the same as their male counterparts in the NBA, as the popularity of the leagues is starkly different. Athletes are asking to be paid proportionally equal with the increased popularity of the WNBA and women’s basketball in recent years.

Athletes like Clark and Reese make the need for better pay from the WNBA clear as the inequalities receive more attention and are displayed on social media. While athletes still generate revenue from NIL Deals and leagues overseas, the WNBA is not properly compensating their athletes for the attention they bring to the league. The way they have changed the sport cannot be ignored. As the sport continues to grow, so should players’ compensation. Professional athletes should not have to rely on external sources of income as heavily as WNBA players do to live.