# What's the maximum amount the WNBA could afford to pay its players? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** basketball-nba\ **Created:** [July 26, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607 "2022-07-26T18:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/41 "2024-04-16T16:43:51Z")
The WNBA does not make profit, it has only made any profit one year like two decades ago. It’s nothing more than a marketing gimmick to draw female interest for their real product. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/42 "2024-04-16T16:48:52Z")
I wasn’t saying what she signed-on for isn’t fair. As mentioned, there just isn’t a lot of money in the WNBA to start with. But I was surprised to learn how large the salary disparity is between the leagues for #1 draft picks. WNBA star rookie and the face of the entire league could probably get a similar or better salary using her marketing degree and sitting at a desk job as a corporate drone (if ignoring the endorsement potential for a moment). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/43 "2024-04-16T16:58:13Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I was going to argue that a lot of men might not be interested because the NBA players are so much better than the WNBA players. But the college teams aren’t typically as good as NBA teams and a lot of people enjoy watching them. But on the spectrum, NCAA men’s basketball teams are better than WNBA teams. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/44 "2024-04-16T17:46:34Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I wasn’t saying what she signed-on for isn’t fair. As mentioned, there just isn’t a lot of money in the WNBA to start with. But I was surprised to learn how large the salary disparity is between the leagues for #1 draft picks. You said it was ridiculous which is what prompted my reply. I would have been surprised by the pay disparity as well were it not for discussions about Britney Griner’s pay and why she was playing in Russia. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > But on the spectrum, NCAA men’s basketball teams are better than WNBA teams. Bill Burr has a bit where he talks about how male anchors on ESPN always have to pretend like they don’t know why women athletes aren’t paid as much as their male counterparts. Ultimately most women’s sports just doesn’t have the following that men’s sports do at this time. NBA salaries didn’t get as high as they are overnight, and it’s going to take time for the WNBA to catch up. I think it’s unlikely to ever catch up though. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/45 "2024-04-16T19:10:12Z")
Catch up is one thing…but I worked out a few months ago that, on a “per regular season game” basis (i.e. what a player’s salary divided by the length of their regular season would be), the #20 or so highest played player in the NBA is _all 144 WNBA players combined_. One way to fix this problem: hope that the “Caitlin Clark factor” boosts TV ratings, then when the TV contract comes up for renewal, the league should ask for more money. which then trickles down to the players. Didn’t the NBA have similar “problems” right before Magic & Bird joined the league? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/46 "2024-04-16T19:16:12Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Didn’t the NBA have similar “problems” right before Magic & Bird joined the league? I was going to make the same comparison. Magic and Bird brought the league into a new era with hugely more interest which led to higher salaries (and ticket prices). It all started with their college rivalry. In 1981-82 I went to a lot of Laker games. They almost never sold out. It was $7 for the cheap seats ($23 today). Day of game prices for students with ID was $3.50. That was just a little more than I was paid for working for an hour at the pizza place. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/47 "2024-04-16T20:22:14Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > One way to fix this problem: hope that the “Caitlin Clark factor” boosts TV ratings, then when the TV contract comes up for renewal, the league should ask for more money. That would be nice, but it would be kinda like expecting Wembayama to save the NBA when Magic/Bird/Jordan/Kobe/Lebron couldn’t. There’s been plenty of super stars in the WNBA before, end of the day women are just not interested in sports to the degree men are, and if they are most are going to prefer the men’s league also. Like that Bill Burr bit referenced earlier said, the money the WNBA players should be making went to the Kardashians instead, because that is what women watch. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/48 "2024-04-16T20:33:45Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > There’s been plenty of super stars in the WNBA before, end of the day women are just not interested in sports to the degree men are, and if they are most are going to prefer the men’s league also. Perhaps. But I thought the women’s NCAA tournament was much more interesting than the men’s this year. Maybe I’ll watch the WNBA. I’m really not into the NBA anymore at all. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/49 "2024-04-16T21:10:10Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > But I thought the women’s NCAA tournament was much more interesting than the men’s this year. The women’s title game outdrew the men’s 18.9 million to 14.8 million this year, though granted that is probably mostly down to the Caitlin Clark factor. But the fact that there is a Caitlin Clark factor probably does speak to a rising popularity (or at least visibility, which often translates to popularity) of women’s basketball in general. You can tangibly see this increased visibility as NIL money is starting to drive more and more elite women’s recruitment (including a vastly increased transfer pool) into college. Elite college students are now starting to making far, far more money as college players than they will from WNBA salaries. The WNBA is also experiencing a slow rise in viewership - slower and from a much smaller starting base, but still double-digit percentage points. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/50 "2024-04-16T21:33:47Z")
The NBA also had like, twice as many teams in 1979 as the WNBA has now. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/51 "2024-04-17T01:42:43Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Catch up is one thing…but I worked out a few months ago that, on a “per regular season game” basis (i.e. what a player’s salary divided by the length of their regular season would be), the #20 or so highest played player in the NBA is _all 144 WNBA players combined_. Update: I checked the NBA salaries on ESPN against the WNBA total salary cap on Spotrac. Here is where the WNBA places: 42 - Gordon Hayward, Oklahoma City, $31,500,000 43 - Chris Paul, Golden State, $30,800,000 44 - The total WNBA Salary Cap, adjusted to an NBA-length schedule, $30,608,530 45 - Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento, $30,600,000 46 - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee, $29,320,988 ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/52 "2024-04-18T17:34:34Z")
Caitlin Clark just signed an “8 figure deal” with Nike, so i think she’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/53 "2024-04-19T00:28:16Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > The women’s title game outdrew the men’s 18.9 million to 14.8 million this year, though granted that is probably mostly down to the Caitlin Clark factor. The women’s game was Sunday, the men’s game was Monday, and as I recall, the men’s title game was on TBS while the women’s was on ABC. TBS is only available in about 80 million homes. I’d think ABC is available in virtually every home with a TV and almost certainly in any home that can get TBS. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/54 "2024-04-19T01:36:51Z")
Whatever. There was WAY more buzz about the woman’s tourney this year. BBC ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/55 "2024-04-19T01:38:42Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > There was WAY more buzz about the woman’s tourney this year. Definitely agreed, though it was primarily, if not entirely, a function of interest in Clark. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/56 "2024-04-19T03:27:09Z")
$350,000 apparently. No doubt Clark will get a lot of money supporting advertisers, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/57 "2024-04-19T04:11:21Z")
The NBA pays 50% of league revenue to players. The WNBA players supposedly want more or equitable percentage but understand the pie is smaller. [https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/business/caitlin-clark-will-earn-a-usd76-535-salary-this-year-the-lowest-paid-nba-player-makes-usd1-1-million/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/business/caitlin-clark-will-earn-a-usd76-535-salary-this-year-the-lowest-paid-nba-player-makes-usd1-1-million/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/58 "2024-04-19T12:53:04Z")
Which sounds reasonable on it’s face, but is probably not possible. The WNBA and NBA both have costs for things like coaches, medical staff, trainers, janitors, ushers, security, rent/property taxes, etc, etc, but in the WNBA it’s a much larger slice of the pie since they have a much smaller pool of money and costs can only be reduced so much. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/59 "2024-04-20T01:54:12Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The NBA pays 50% of league revenue to players. The WNBA players supposedly want more or equitable percentage but understand the pie is smaller. > > [https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/business/caitlin-clark-will-earn-a-usd76-535-salary-this-year-the-lowest-paid-nba-player-makes-usd1-1-million/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/business/caitlin-clark-will-earn-a-usd76-535-salary-this-year-the-lowest-paid-nba-player-makes-usd1-1-million/index.html) The NBA owns 50% of the WNBA. The league and its owners only own 50% of their own teams. The only thing that’s the same between the two leagues is they both bounce an orange ball. You can’t really compare the two business models. > **[Does the NBA subsidize the WNBA?](https://en.as.com/nba/does-the-nba-subsidize-the-wnba-n/?outputType=amp)** > > Now that the draft for the WNBA is over the tournament takes wings of itself riding on the back of rising start Caitlin Clark. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607/60 "2024-04-20T13:19:11Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > The WNBA players supposedly want more or equitable percentage but understand the pie is smaller. There is no pie, the WNBA does not make any profit. Asking for more money is just asking the owners to burn even more cash to support what is basically a hobby/marketing gimmick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-maximum-amount-the-wnba-could-afford-to-pay-its-players/968607.md?page=4)