Professional and college
sport programs continue to provide unequal funding for women when compared to
their male counterparts. We see this
happen in most sports and at most levels; however, we have also noted there
have been a few exceptions to this.
There are many different statistics to prove male athletes receive more money at both the professional and college levels. There is a large difference in professional sports. For example, the minimum salary for a WNBA in 2011 was $35,880 and the maximum of $103,500 for a six-year veteran who qualified for a maximum contract. At the same time, the minimum salary for a NBA rookie for the 2010-1011 season was $473,604. At four years in the NBA, the male player would earn $885,120 and $1.3 million for ten years in the league. Of course, we know there are the very talented male players making $10 to $20 million a year and some even in excess of those amounts. In professional golf, the average salary of the top 250 male golfers on the PGA Tour was about $1.1 million in 2010 compared to $34,500 for the top 100 ladies on the women’s tour. This difference is a combination of prize money available as well as events held. A few professional sports including marathon events and tennis have closed the gap in prize money for females and males. In 2005, the New York City Marathon earnings were equal for both men and women. In 2007, Wimbledon provided equal prize purses to both men and woman and now all four Grand Slam events offer equal prize money to the champions.
There is also a large discrepancy in money allocated to men vs. women in college sports. This happens even despite Title IX. Title IX is a portion of an Amendment to give equal opportunities and treatment for women and men. Although the gap has gotten smaller, male athletes continue to get more college athletic scholarship money than women. Currently approximately 55% of college athletic money goes to male athletes compared to 45% for women. A few additional examples include the fact that only about thirty eight percent of college sport operating dollars and thirty three percent of a college athletic team recruitment spending are allocated for female athletes while the remainder is allocated to male athletes. There is also a significant discrepancy in the dollars given to college coaches for female vs. male sports. In the NCAA Division I, the head coaches for women’s teams made an average of $850,400 while the men’s team average was $1,783,100. That equals more than two times the average for men.
There are many different statistics to prove male athletes receive more money at both the professional and college levels. There is a large difference in professional sports. For example, the minimum salary for a WNBA in 2011 was $35,880 and the maximum of $103,500 for a six-year veteran who qualified for a maximum contract. At the same time, the minimum salary for a NBA rookie for the 2010-1011 season was $473,604. At four years in the NBA, the male player would earn $885,120 and $1.3 million for ten years in the league. Of course, we know there are the very talented male players making $10 to $20 million a year and some even in excess of those amounts. In professional golf, the average salary of the top 250 male golfers on the PGA Tour was about $1.1 million in 2010 compared to $34,500 for the top 100 ladies on the women’s tour. This difference is a combination of prize money available as well as events held. A few professional sports including marathon events and tennis have closed the gap in prize money for females and males. In 2005, the New York City Marathon earnings were equal for both men and women. In 2007, Wimbledon provided equal prize purses to both men and woman and now all four Grand Slam events offer equal prize money to the champions.
There is also a large discrepancy in money allocated to men vs. women in college sports. This happens even despite Title IX. Title IX is a portion of an Amendment to give equal opportunities and treatment for women and men. Although the gap has gotten smaller, male athletes continue to get more college athletic scholarship money than women. Currently approximately 55% of college athletic money goes to male athletes compared to 45% for women. A few additional examples include the fact that only about thirty eight percent of college sport operating dollars and thirty three percent of a college athletic team recruitment spending are allocated for female athletes while the remainder is allocated to male athletes. There is also a significant discrepancy in the dollars given to college coaches for female vs. male sports. In the NCAA Division I, the head coaches for women’s teams made an average of $850,400 while the men’s team average was $1,783,100. That equals more than two times the average for men.
There are many reasons why this large discrepancy of
funding, prize money and salaries exists.
I believe the largest reason for the discrepancy is somewhat obvious as
the demand to watch women’s sports is much smaller than men’s sports. There is much more demand for spectators to
watch male sporting events whether at the college level or professional
ranks. This is evident in not only in
the sales of tickets but also advertisement revenue and the revenue received
from television broadcasts. This is
evident from the “Televised Sports Manhood Formula” study, which shows 38.6% of
commercials were directed towards men only while only 3.9% were directed
towards only women. The targeted market
is males who are watching male sports. Another
example includes Super Bowl commercial costs.
These costs are around $3.5 million which is obviously a ridiculous
amount of money. Women’s events are
unable to generate revenue like this. Lastly
attendance attributes to this large difference.
The overall average attendance per WNBA game was approximately eight
thousand per game in 2011 compared to eighteen thousand for the NBA.
I ultimately believe athletes on average should be paid based on the fan’s demand to see the athlete whether on television, the internet, or at games as well as the revenue they generate for their respective team. So I agree with the fact that men athletes get paid largely more than women athletes but we must find a solution in order to make these salaries more even and fair to both sides. The only way for this to happen is to make women’s sports as popular or desired as men’s sports. Women athletes do not generate the same amount of money for their teams or sports as male athletes. Ticket sales, clothing purchases and other fan expenditures are not nearly as significant for the female as they are for the male athletes. In addition due to the smaller following, female athletic events are unable to generate the advertising and television revenue to support additional money for the female athletes. So for all of these reasons it is clear that the only way they will ever receive the same salaries would be to promote women’s sports and get a larger following behind them.
Note: The references came from
The Unquatifiable Gap in Women's Sports
Womens Sports Foundation
www.womenssportsfoundation.org
What is the Average Salary of a Basketball Player
http://www.livestrong.com/article/347157-what-is-the-average-salary-of-a-basketball-player/#ixzz2C4a51Q6B
What is the Average Salary of a Basketball Player
http://www.livestrong.com/article/347157-what-is-the-average-salary-of-a-basketball-player/#ixzz2C4a51Q6B
Average Salary of a Professional Golfer
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