Caitlin Clark and the Future of Wage Disparities in Women’s Sports

By: Eliana Aero Selassie

Edited by: regan Cornelius and Isabella canales

Caitlin Clark, point guard for the University of Iowa’s women’s basketball team, has revolutionized college sports in the last year. With 3,951 career points, Clark is the leading scorer in the history of college basketball. [1] The NCAA women’s basketball championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks broke records by being the most-watched basketball game in the last 5 years, which averaged 18.7 million viewers and 24 million at its peak. The Iowa game pulled 4 million more viewers than the men’s NCAA final for the first time as a result of Clark’s incredible performance in the last year. [2] The Iowa game was the most-watched basketball game in the history of ESPN and this dramatic increase in viewership has brought women’s basketball to new levels of praise and viewership. [3]

Clark was selected as the WNBA's Number 1 draft pick and is now set to play for the Indiana Fever. Despite her record achievements and strong career ahead of her, many were shocked to discover her remarkably low salary for a record-breaking athlete of her stature. Clark’s rookie contract is $338,056 over 4 years, totaling $84,500 annually. Her salary is starkly lower than NBA No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama, whose salary is $55.2 million over the next 4 years. This is largely a result of structural issues between the WNBA and the NBA that contribute to severe pay inequality. Players’ salaries are usually a product of annual revenue from each league, consisting of television and broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and ticket and merchandise purchases. [4] The NBA annually earns roughly $10 billion in revenue, which is fifty times greater than the WNBA's revenue of $200M. Additionally, the NBA also plays for a considerably longer season, with 82 games compared to 40 for the WNBA. Because the NBA plays significantly more games, it is able to generate more annual revenue and play its players more. However, given that the WNBA plays fewer games, it makes significantly less in annual revenue, thereby restricting the amount of money available for player’s salaries. [5]

Another important factor is collective bargaining agreements (CBA). The NBA’s CBA allows players to receive 50 percent of all the revenue the league generates, creating a substantial pool for their salaries. In contrast, WNBA players receive 50 percent of “incremental revenue” which is known as “revenue that exceeds the targets the league has set for itself”. [5] This provides a much smaller pool for their salaries to be drawn from, in addition to the significantly lower amount of annual revenue that the WNBA makes compared to the NBA. In total, this also means that only 20 percent of the revenue the WNBA generates goes toward players' salaries. [5]

President Biden was among the fans disheartened by Clark’s low salary, sharing on the social media platform X that “Right now we’re seeing that even if you’re the best, women are not paid their fair share. It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve”. [6] Women earn around 15 to 100% less than their male counterparts in sports like basketball, soccer, tennis, and golf. Conversations over this disparity in sports were catapulted by the significant inequalities between the payment and treatment of male and female soccer teams. During the 2022 Men’s World Cup, the winner’s prize pool was $440 million, while in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the pool was $110 million, a quarter less. However, despite these stark differences, the gap between male and female athletes is the most blatant between the WNBA and the NBA. In the 2022-2023 season, NBA players had a minimum salary of $953,000 and a maximum salary of $45,780,966, while the WNBA had a minimum salary of $60,000 and a maximum salary of $234,936. [7]

Caitlin Clark and wage discrepancies in the WNBA compared to their male counterparts in the NBA are indicative of a larger issue of wage inequality in the workplace. In the United States, for every dollar a man makes, a woman earns 84 cents. [8] The wage gap is even more stark for women of color, where black and Latina women who work full time are paid, respectively, 69 cents and 57 cents for every dollar a white man makes. These discrepancies have persisted despite legislation and legal efforts enacted to address the wage gap. [9]

The Equal Pay Act (EPA), passed in 1963, bars discrimination between men and women who work the same jobs with the same skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. The act “prohibits discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers.” Nonetheless, the act’s enforcement and application have been significantly ineffective because many of its features lack enforcement mechanisms to hold corporations responsible for the wage gap. The EPA fails to outline provisions for fair compensation of victims of wage discrepancies and interpretations of the EPA have been very inconsistent in defining “a work establishment,” which has allowed employers to pay unequal wages to men and women because they can take advantage of these inconsistent interpretations and pay their workers in a manner of their choosing. The act also provides weak class action provisions, making it hard for victims of discrimination to carry out lawsuits. 

More recent political and legal efforts to amend the wage gap have also been unsuccessful at tackling the issue. In the 2007 Supreme Court case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., it was stated that employees could not sue their employers for pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if they had not filed the suit “within 180 days of a discriminatory salary decision”. [11] The Ledbetter case marked a substantial judicial setback in achieving equal pay since the capacity and agency of women to receive compensation for wage discrimination was significantly reduced, illustrating a lack of success in recent attempts to resolve these inequalities.  Most recently, the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA) was reintroduced into the House and the Senate in March 2023 after failing to pass through the Senate in 2021. The PFA helps address many of the EPA’s weaknesses, providing a clear definition of a work “establishment”, improving class action provisions, and providing stronger enforcement mechanisms. [10]      

Despite significant setbacks, Clark’s rapid impact on women’s basketball could alter the future of WNBA wages and the league’s reputation. Teams set to play the Fever have begun to see an increase in ticket sales, and her Indiana Fever jersey is fully sold out. Furthermore, teams playing Clark and the Fever are already expanding to larger stadiums to accommodate increased viewer turnout. Clark’s presence in the WNBA has rapidly grown its fanbase and increased awareness of the wage and resource inequality that female basketball players face. [12] Many players are hopeful that this is the start of much-needed change in the WNBA and the treatment of female athletes everywhere. The debate over Clark’s salary could also be an important step toward introducing and enforcing legislation that amends the wage gap across workplaces. 

Notes:

1. Reynolds, Tim. “Caitlin Clark's college career, by the numbers.” AP News, 8 April 2024, https://apnews.com/article/caitlin-clark-iowa-ncaa-1d88d50c2db783b6e5b075e7243dcc85. Accessed 8 May 2024.

2. “Caitlin Clark – University of Iowa Athletics.” n.d. Iowa Athletics. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://hawkeyesports.com/roster/caitlin-clark/.

3. Matthews, Alex L. 2024. “How women’s NCAA basketball and Caitlin Clark broke viewership records, in three charts.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/10/us/ncaa-womens-basketball-ratings-dg/index.html.

4. Gregory, Sean. 2024. “Caitlin Clark's Legacy Is Untarnished After Final NCAA Game.” Time. https://time.com/6964487/caitlin-clark-ncaa-championship-legacy/.

5. Johnson, Roy. 2024. “Misplaced outrage over WNBA contract should spark change.” Las Vegas Sun. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/apr/20/misplaced-outrage-over-wnba-contract-should-spark/. 

6. Zhou, Li. 2024. “Caitlin Clark's staggeringly low starting salary, briefly explained.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/24132057/caitlin-clark-wnba-draft-2024. 

7. Vigdor, Neil. 2024. “Biden Weighs in on Caitlin Clark Salary Debate After W.N.B.A. Draft.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/us/politics/caitlin-clark-salary-biden.html. 

8. Adelphi University. 2023. “Male vs. Female Professional Sports Salary Comparison.” Online Programs. https://online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/. 

9. Sahadi, Jeanne. 2024. “March 12 marks Equal Pay Day this year.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/12/success/equal-pay-day-2024/index.html. 

10. “The Simple Truth about the Pay Gap.” n.d. AAUW. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/simple-truth/. 

11. American Bar Association. n.d. “The Paycheck Fairness Act.” American Bar Association. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/priorities_policy/discrimination/the-paycheck-fairness-act/. 

12. Oyez, 2024. “Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/05-1074. 

13. Treisman, Rachel. 2024. “Caitlin Clark and Fever frenzy hit the WNBA, boosting ticket prices and jersey sales.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/22/1246308836/caitlin-clark-indiana-fever-wnba-tickets-venues. 

Bibliography:

Adelphi University. 2023. “Male vs. Female Professional Sports Salary Comparison.” Online Programs. https://online.adelphi.edu/articles/male-female-sports-salary/.

American Bar Association. n.d. “The Paycheck Fairness Act.” American Bar Association. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/priorities_policy/discrimination/the-paycheck-fairness-act/.

Gregory, Sean. 2024. “Caitlin Clark's Legacy Is Untarnished After Final NCAA Game.” Time. https://time.com/6964487/caitlin-clark-ncaa-championship-legacy/.

Johnson, Roy. 2024. “Misplaced outrage over WNBA contract should spark change.” Las Vegas Sun. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/apr/20/misplaced-outrage-over-wnba-contract-should-spark/.

Matthews, Alex L. 2024. “How women’s NCAA basketball and Caitlin Clark broke viewership records, in three charts.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/10/us/ncaa-womens-basketball-ratings-dg/index.html.

Oyez, 2024. “Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.” https://www.oyez.org/cases/2006/05-1074.

Reynolds, Tim. “Caitlin Clark's college career, by the numbers.” AP News, 8 April 2024, https://apnews.com/article/caitlin-clark-iowa-ncaa-1d88d50c2db783b6e5b075e7243dcc85. Accessed 8 May 2024.

Sahadi, Jeanne. 2024. “March 12 marks Equal Pay Day this year.” CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/12/success/equal-pay-day-2024/index.html.

“The Simple Truth about the Pay Gap.” n.d. AAUW. Accessed April 23, 2024. https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/simple-truth/.

Treisman, Rachel. 2024. “Caitlin Clark and Fever frenzy hit the WNBA, boosting ticket prices and jersey sales.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/22/1246308836/caitlin-clark-indiana-fever-wnba-tickets-venues.

Vigdor, Neil. 2024. “Biden Weighs in on Caitlin Clark Salary Debate After W.N.B.A. Draft.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/us/politics/caitlin-clark-salary-biden.html.

Zhou, Li. 2024. “Caitlin Clark's staggeringly low starting salary, briefly explained.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/24132057/caitlin-clark-wnba-draft-2024.