This cycle goes as follows: the fewer women who have access to sports, the fewer women have interest in sports, the fewer women who will become professional athletes, the fewer fans, the fewer commercial opportunities for revenue, the less interest in ad buys and investment in women's sport, the less money there is for female athlete salaries, Why are female athletes still paid less than males? Sixty percent of those polled said that salaries should be paid to all athletes, and 38% said salaries should only be paid to athletes playing sports that bring in revenue. Pro athletes are the stars of those shows, and TV stars get paid a lot. 23, 2018, Craig Garthwaite, Who Profits from Amateurism? People in the military leave their families at home to defend and protect the country knowing they may never return. In 2019, the average annual income for a US household was $96,955while the average income of a professional baseball player in the major leagues was around $4.7 million. Their top-ranked masters is offered online and on campus, and its flexible curriculum allows students to take a general track or choose from specializations in sport marketing or collegiate athletic administration. 23, 2023. Schools would also have to cut unprofitable sports including gymnastics, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Also, think about whod get the money if the athletes made less. This pay gap creates unnecessary tensions within sport teams and is unfair to teammates who sacrifice just as much but for less money. This change in purpose has a negative impact on athletes ambition to play. The 2020 agreement was also a big step forward in terms of WNBA players salary potential. THAT'S IT! For years, another major difference in compensation came in the form of revenue sharing. Until 2018, the mens team qualified for the World Cup every year since 1990, but has not won a championship. Athletes Dont Get Paid As Much As We Think. In 2020, the league difference in rookie pay decreased by 50% (down from 154%), while the salary budget gap closed by 22%. Additionally, while most teenagers or college-age students spend their free time studying, working or hanging out, student athletes aiming to qualify for the pros spend all of their free time training. Men's sports receive vastly more media coverage, television licenses, and sponsorship deals, which contribute to higher revenue. The top WNBA salarywas $117,500 last season, compared with $37.4 million in the NBA. More TV exposure for the players will lead to more visibility, and more visibility could lead to major deals with endorsers in the future. The truth is, some professional athletes make huge salaries because millions of people are happy to pay money to see those players make the amazing catches and breathtaking plays we love to watch. TakeAlbert Haynesworthof the Washington Redskins. Please try again later. Erin McGeoy, a former water polo athlete at George Washington University, explained, a common occurrence was that we would run out of meal money halfway through the semester and thats when I started to run into troubles of food insecurity. She turned to boarding dogs in her no-dogs-allowed apartment in order to pay rent because housing costs increased each year but her housing allowance remained static. It is clear that professional athletes do not get paid enough, because they get paid the same amount as actors and they don't do anything physical. The existence of world tournaments and professional leagues highlight the reason why female athletes should be paid less than their male counterparts. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public. Limits on Paying College Athletes, nytimes.com, Dec. 16, 2020, Dennis Dodd, Breaking Down the NCAA's Forthcoming Supreme Court Battle with Its Big Brother Status and Amateurism at Stake, cbssports.com, Feb. 3, 2021, NCAA, 2021 March Madness: Complete Schedule, Dates, ncaa.org (accessed Mar. The truth is, some professional athletes make huge salaries because millions of people are happy to pay money to see those players make the amazing catchesand breathtaking plays we love to watch. [11], Additionally, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case (National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Shawne Alston, et al.) are the three biggest sports organizations in the U.S. Therefore, they deserve to earn more. But theyre still earning way too much money. I thought the main issue in women's sports was equal pay. I was wrong Professional Athletes Are Overpaid - The Odyssey Online Professional sports revenues are rapidly increasing because of the seemingly insatiable appetites for unique TV programs. Many more try, but don't even come close. [48], A 2019 Seton Hall Sports Poll found that 60% of those surveyed agreed that college athletes should be allowed compensation for their name, image, and/or likeness, while 32% disagreed, and 8% were unsure. Men's sports generate higher revenue, so male athletes are paid higher salaries. Source: Womens National Basketball Players Association (2019, 2020). How are professional athletes not overpaid? The average American woman earns 81% of what an average American man earns, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If so, theyll stop paying to watch or support professional sports teams, leaving the industry in the lurch. In fiscal year 2019, the collective expenses of the 65 Power Five schoolsthe largest and richest Division I schools in the NCAAexceeded revenue by $7 million. Last modified on March 27, 2023. Since then, the womens team has won four FIFA Womens World Cup titles. [47], By Jan. 2022, without a clear NIL structure from the NCAA, some schools were questioning how to navigate deals for players or whole teams without violating NCAA policy. (The Perspective Book), suffer from progressive degenerative disease. For instance, during each season of any professional sport, there are away games that keep players from their families. 69 other head mens basketball coaches were paid more than $1 million annually, and another three more than $500,000. Athletes are paid huge sums of money to play sports. Data analyzed from the Department of Labor showed nine out of 10 new jobs were going to employees with college degrees in June 2018. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average total cost of public college (tuition, fees, room, and board) for the 201718 academic year was $17,797. Why Are Professional Athletes Overpaid - 1387 Words | Cram players had reached out to the American soccer players and their union for help as they sought better pay and working conditions. Is MMA any more dangerous than boxing or other contact sports? [25] [26], The study found that [t]he player-level analysis reveals that the existing limits on player compensation effectively transfers resources away from students who are more likely to be black and more likely to come from poor neighborhoods towards students who are more likely to be white and come from higher-income neighborhoods. [25], College athletes are required to make up the difference between NCAA scholarships and the actual cost of living. But do these athletes really deserve all that money? Furthermore, police officers, firefighters, and doctors save lives while risking their own for a fraction of what sports stars make. As women and girls continue to fight for equal opportunity in the workplace, the fields, arenas and courts have been, and will continue to be, no exception. (Photo by Damien MEYER). The Yankees bat boy salary is more than my professional softball contract,NPF playerand U.S. womens national team member Delanie Gourley wrote in a since-deleted tweet. More than half the people in the United States make less than $62,000 a year. When basketball player Stephen Curry signed a new contract with the Golden State Warriors in 2017,jaws dropped at his salary: a whopping $201million over five years. Our signature Pro/Con articles on various big debates. But the long fight that set key members of the womens team against their bosses at U.S. Soccer ended on Tuesday just as abruptly as it had begun, with a settlement that included a multimillion-dollar payment to the players and a promise by their federation to equalize pay between the mens and womens national teams. In the same year, DeWanna Bonner, the highest-paid WNBA player, was eligible for a base salary of $127,500, a difference of almost 200%. In any other job, if you don't perform to your expectations, you're fired. Top U.S. mens player: Andy Roddick, $2,187,719, Top U.S. mens player: John Isner, $411,414, Average of U.S. women in top 100: $1,484,559, Top U.S. womens player: Serena Williams, $4,266,011, Average of U.S. women in top 100: $307,343, Top U.S. womens player: Sofia Kenin, $3,012,043. While this is heartening for advocates of equal pay, there is still progress that needs to be madeespecially when it comes to professional sports. While these may seem huge, so are the deductions from them. Do you think professional athletes are overpaid? ), the National Football League (N.F.L. Professional Athletes should be Paid Less - Teen Opinions procon@eb.com, 2023 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. Bloomberg News recently touted soccer as the future of sports in America, and soccer fandom has clearly grown within the United States. Women used to rank more prominently among the top-earning athletes, butover the past 25 years, media companies have spent billions on TV deals for live sports content. [23]. Those who need reminding that women generally get paid less than men for doing the same work got it on Tuesday. 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 [18] [19], Michael Sokolove, author of The Last Temptation of Rick Pitino (2018), explained, If you look at a program like [University of] Louisville, they generate about $45 million a year in revenue. : The 100 debates that govern your life, written in a way that tells both sides of every story. Why Female Athletes Earn Less Than Men Across Most Sports - Forbes What Can You Do With a Masters in Social Work? Check back soon for more announcements and tutorials. are thriving at the highest levels, all higher percentages than their non-athlete peers. Wouldn't it be great to make nearly $111 million a year simply to play a game? Dont Turn Them Into the Minor Leagues.," nytimes.com, Mar. Women in male-dominated sports such as racecar driver Danica Patrick and UFC and WWE star Ronda Rousey ranked among the top earners in their sports when they were active. For example, a student athlete will be compensated for the sale of a jersey featuring their name, or for a sponsorship deal in which they appear wearing a UNC jersey. Gender Pay Gap for Women Athletes - Inequality.org Is this for the better? As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 2. Further confusing the issue, the NCAA does not have a consistent or fair definition of amateurism and allows some significant forms of financial compensation. So if you think pro athletes make too much money, maybe you should stop watching them. The compensation for professional athletes differs from traditional pay because, Matheson said, fans have limited choices compared to other industries - a phenomenon known as "superstar. And pros in less popular sports make even less than that. In the N.B.A., the average annual salary was $7.1million. Show Her The Money: Why Female Athletes Deserve Higher Pay - Forbes Sorry, an error occurred and your vote could not be processed. More significant, though, is that players put their bodies in danger daily. 1. So if you think pro athletes make too much money, maybe you should stop watching them. ), and Major League Baseball (M.L.B.) With a new decade ahead, we are taking a look back at how athlete compensation changed over the past ten years, and the obvious trends of wage equality in sports. 1 overall pick in the '07 draft. But far more comes from the multibillion-dollar deals made with cable and TV networks to broadcast games. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [42], The NCAA was scheduled to vote on new NIL rules in Jan. 2021, but it then postponed the vote, citing external factors. [10] Days before the scheduled vote Makan Delrahim, JD, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice under the Trump administration, questioned the proposed rules compliance with antitrust laws.
