While most male professional athletes in major sports in the United States sign contracts with millions of dollars or at least six figures, that is certainly not the case for female athletes. And that salary disparity is very evident when looking at the rookie contracts for WNBA players.
Following the WNBA Draft on Monday night, Sportico shared a tweet that detailed the pay structure of all the new WNBA players’ rookie contracts. And as you might expect, it was not a lot of money at all.
“Salaries for the rookie #WNBADraft contracts:
1st (Aliyah Boston) $74,305
2nd (Diamond Miller) $74,305
3rd (Maddy Siegrist) $74,305
4th (Stephanie Soares) $74,305
The remainder of first-round picks: $71,300 – $68,295
second-rounders: $65,290
third-rounders and undrafted: $62,28,” Sportico shared in a Tweet.
As Sportico pointed out in a follow-up tweet, that’s a huge difference from what their male counterparts are paid in the NBA.
According to @spotrac, the 30th (and last) pick of the first round of the NBA Draft has a rookie contract of $1,828,300 for 2022-2023.
That is more than 6x of what the first 4 picks from last night are making combined. https://t.co/O3TtzAxXC0
— Sportico (@Sportico) April 11, 2023
“According to @spotrac, the 30th (and last) pick of the first round of the NBA Draft has a rookie contract of $1,828,300 for 2022-2023. That is more than 6x of what the first 4 picks from last night are making combined,” Sportico shared in a Tweet.
Obviously, it’s a massive disparity, and the sports world was not exactly happy about it.
If anyone is curious why Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and so many WNBA stars played in Russia for a million $ payday in the off-season, here’s why #WNBADraft https://t.co/88FkxiVYqt
— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) April 11, 2023
A lot of them may be making more NIL money in college.
— Richard de Give (@RichdeGive) April 11, 2023
How is Zia supposed to live in L.A. on that?
C’mon WNBA! #WNBADraft — RI Rhonda (@ri_rhonda) April 11, 2023
Very true. Aliyah Boston’s NIL value is estimated at $104,000 annually. If that does not continue (I have no idea), she will get a pay cut.
— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) April 11, 2023
Only 36 players in world get drafted into WNBA each year. About 24 will make a roster. Most other young ppl are not the top .00001% in their craft. And if they are, I promise you they are making more than $60K right out of college.
— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) April 11, 2023
Except in other countries it’s not that hard.
— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) April 11, 2023
This is ridiculous! I mean I knew, but seeing it laid out…
— Donald Earl Collins is also on Threads
(@decollins1969) April 11, 2023
We’ll have to see if the salaries increase in the near future.
[Sportico]
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