The Gender Pay Gap in Sports
- Sophie Caridi
- Mar 20, 2021
- 2 min read
It is no surprise that women are paid consistently less than men in team sports. Just to give an example of the pay gap between men and women in sports, a men's professional soccer player received a salary of $92 million in 2019. This does not include endorsements. The highest-paid professional women's soccer player for 2019 earned $46,200 in the National Women's Soccer League and $7.2 million in Major League Soccer. Just to be fair this does not include endorsements either. The highest-paid men's professional basketball player salary of $39.2 million in 2021 far exceeds the highest-paid professional female basketball player salary of $500,000. As far as basketball goes an argument can be made that the women’s season is shorter and that they do not play as many games. So let's break that down. The highest-paid men’s player is paid $478,048.78 per game. The highest-paid women's player is paid $13,888.88 per game. The courts are the same size, the hoops are the same height, the main difference is the diameter of the basketball and the distance from the free-throw line. So why isn't the pay equal? A difference of about $465,000 is paid to the highest respective players of each sport per game. That is an astounding disparity. One can say that there is no comparison between the intensity and athletic ability of a professional men's basketball team and a women's professional basketball team. So let's look at another sport, professional soccer, It would be very difficult to find someone to criticize the accomplishments of the United States Women's Soccer Team. Three-time World Cup Champions, medaled four times in the Olympics. The men's team has not won a World Cup in almost a century. Still, these women earn considerably less than their male counterparts. The United States Men's Soccer team has not won a major championship in many years. The last major accomplishment was a medal in the 2010 Olympics. Yet, the salary difference between the men’s and women’s teams is based on millions. Professional sports is a business. It all comes down to revenue. The men's professional teams draw much larger crowds, more ticket sales, and more advertising revenue. Part of this is due to the fact that the men's teams have been established and part of the sports culture for many years. Some players even have a cult following due to marketing and social media.
Professional tennis is the only sport at this time that has been able to bring the pay gap between men and women in sports. Tennis has taken the lead in the area and is an example for other professional teams to follow.
How can professional sports bridge the gender pay gap? There are long-standing traditions and histories in cities around the world that recognize sports and their athletes. It is time for professional sports to recognize that women athletes deserve to be paid equal to their male counterparts. Women’s sports will need to increase their attendance at sporting events. Marketing and advertising are key to their success. Social media can also play a big part in promoting women's sports. This can’t happen overnight but if we work tougher we can work towards it.
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