Crossing over from playing elite college basketball at the University of Iowa to being the number one pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark was selected by the Indiana Fever on April 15. Clark had an outstanding college career, setting numerous records, but none more astounding than becoming the NCAA scoring leader for both men’s and women’s basketball, surpassing NCAA men's basketball legend Pete Maravich. Clark, in her time, was able to shine a light on women’s basketball that was otherwise not seen as much before, by successfully inspiring young athletes of all kinds to play to their full potential and live out their dreams.
She has continued, although mostly unintentionally, to shine a light on women’s basketball recently by also bringing attention to the pay gap between men’s and women’s players.
After Clark was selected, a debate began on whether or not female professional athletes should be paid more, like their male counterparts. In 2023, number one overall pick Victor Wembanyama was selected by the San Antonio Spurs, and his salary for the 2023/2024 season was more than $12 million, and in his fourth year during the 2027/2028 season Wembanyama will make a whopping $23.6 million. In contrast, Clark’s contract is about $338,000 for three years and a fourth optional year.
Pay discrepancy between male sports and female sports is not a new topic. It has been going on for decades. Clark is arguably the greatest sports prodigy we will see in our lifetime, and yet her contract is only a small fraction of her male counterparts. For women's sports, this is a slap in the face. For Clark, that is an insult to her talent.
In 2023, the number one pick in the NHL draft, Connor Bedard of the Blackhawks, signed a $13.35 million contract, while his counterpart in the Professional Women's Hockey League and 2023 first overall pick, Taylor Heise of Minnesota, is suspected to only be making around $80,000 a season, or $240,000 in her three-year contract. Athletes competing in professional women's sports are being snubbed of their equal or rightful pay compensation.
People oppose women's sports getting equal paychecks for many reasons. In certain cases, it almost seems logical that professional female athletes make less money than their male counterparts. Attendance rates at male sporting events are higher than women's games. WSN.com stated that the NBA on average has 17,000 in attendance compared to WNBA’s 2,000. Revenue is another case. In 2022, the WNBA made $10 million in revenue, while the NBA made 1,000 times that with a whopping $10 billion in revenue. Another important case is viewership. In 2022, the most viewed game was one of the NBA finals games with 12.4 million views, while in 2022 the most viewed WNBA game had 412,000 viewers.
To the WNBA’s defense, however, their games are hardly ever aired on national TV, or local TV at that. That is a major difference in viewership between the two. If someone wants to watch an NBA game at virtually any point during the season, finding a live game is not a difficult task. Games are on ESPN, TNT, TBS and others. However, WNBA games will make a rare occasional nationwide broadcast on ESPN. Without viewership, revenue is lost. Without revenue, the league’s only source of income is through sponsorships.
These athletes participating in women's sports are being neglected of their rightful pay, and millions are sitting back and watching this unfold. Female athletes are playing the same game. They are playing in similar stadiums with similar audiences, and yet the only difference between men’s and women’s sports is that they are not being paid equally. With Caitlin Clark’s appearance in the WNBA, many hope that eventually pay will move to a more consistent level across the board between the sports. But with Clark’s contract at a $43,377,424 difference from Wembanyama’s starting contract, it is unlikely that change will happen for a long time.
Equal pay is a must. Sponsors of the NBA could start sponsoring the WNBA. Many do, but if more were to join, athletes’ pay may be more alike. This isn't just in basketball either. This can be said with the NHL and PWHL, as well as the MLS and NWSL. A call for action has been started for a long time since women’s sports have started taking off and gaining more fans, but a new method may be needed to gain the attention of audiences nationally and globally. Professional female athletes are being robbed and deprived of equal compensation because so many people are still blind to the issue.