Welcome to the free market
/
Hoda Kotb rants about Caitlin Clark’s ‘ridiculous’ first-year WNBA salary: ‘So disturbing’
Hoda Kotb [no, I don’t what that is, either, but bear with me — Ed] was all fired up after learning that WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark will make just a fraction of what her male cohorts earn for her first year as a professional basketball player.
“For somebody who is now the face of women’s basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous,” Kotb said on the “Today” show Tuesday.
Kotb noted that Clark, who was the No. 1 overall draft pick Monday, signed a four-year contract with the Indiana Fever for $338,000, whereas the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, landed a $55 million deal.
Kotb acknowledged that Clark, 22, will earn [much] more money from various endorsements, but she still does not understand how the athlete is making significantly less than Wembanyama, who cashed in $12.1 million for his first season with the San Antonio Spurs last year.
Then this moron chimes in:
“Honestly, the gap is so jarring,” Jenna Bush Hager said. “The discrepancy when we’re talking about equal pay? That ain’t even close!”
“But Chris,” you ask, “how could this be?” Hoda, Jenna, you could start and stop here: $10 billion vs $60 million
Which League Makes More Money: the NBA, or the WNBA?
The NBA, by a landslide. In total, there are 1230 NBA Games during the regular season. There are at maximum, 105 playoff games – if each series were to max out at seven games.
In a WNBA season, there are 204 matchups between teams. As each team plays 34 games – four against in-conference competition and three against out of conference competition. There is the possibility of 35 post-season games if each series maxed out at five games.
It is currently estimated that the WNBA generates approximately $60 million in revenue, while $12.3 million of that revenue is distributed to its players.
In 2022, the NBA’s 30 teams generated $10 billion in revenue which was up 35% from 2018. From a 1983 agreement to cap payrolls, NBA Players are guaranteed at least 53% of league revenue.
How Does Each League Distribute Its Revenue?
Revenue share is key in determining the worth of a league not only to its fans but to its most important employees, the players.
In the NBA, revenue is distributed equally amongst franchises equal to the salary cap set for the year. To receive full revenue sharing benefits, a team must generate revenue that is equal to 70% of the league average.
Roughly 50% of the NBA’s revenue is split between the league and the players.
The WNBA follows a similar system, as the CBA determines the amount of revenue that is split between players and league.
In 2018 the NBA was third in tv advertising revenue generated during the post-season. Generating an incredible $970 million, they trailed only the NFL and the NCAA in tv advertisement spent on a league.
It fails to be a contest when comparing the WNBA. The WNBA fails to generate even one percent of the NBA’s $8-$9 billion in revenue.
Measuring the post-season revenue is a bit difficult, but estimating is assisted by presented viewership numbers.
The 2022 NBA Finals had about 13% fewer viewers this year, compared to last year (13.99M to 12.4M). The WNBA doesn’t hold a candle to those numbers.
Which Teams Are Worth More, NBA or WNBA?
The NBA dominates the WNBA in this regard.
The average NBA team value is $2.86 billion, a 15% growth over last year. Each team received $110 million from shared-revenue outlets including national media, sponsorship, and licensing streams.
Four teams – the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Chicago Bulls – earned at least $110 million in 2019. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the only team to lose money last season.
The NBA teams are far and away the more valuable side in this comparison. While the numbers for the WNBA haven’t been officially released, a number of those franchises are estimated to have been propped up by their NBA ownership.
Take the New York Knicks for example. The Knicks are the most valuable franchise in the NBA, worth approximately $4 billion. Until 2019, the owner of the WNBA’s New York Liberty was the Knicks’ very own James Dolan.
Dolan said to the Washington Post:
“[The Liberty] hasn’t made money,” James Dolan, chairman of franchise owner Madison Square Garden company, told HBO’s “Real Sports” program in 2015, adding that he was considering handing his franchise back to WNBA leadership to cut his losses. “Its prospects of making money, at that time and even today, are still slim.”
“We’re talking about equal pay!” Are you really, Jenna? I’m willing to bet that Channel 12’s six television anchors and reporters pictured below all work just as hard, if not harder, as the Ladies of Today and are just as telegenic (or more), but I’ll also bet that their combined salaries barely amount to a rounding fraction of what you and Koda are pulling down. Let’s put it all in one pie and distribute it equally, shall we?
