In sports and in business, our man Shaq is a guy who knows more than most when it comes to money. He collected some nice checks during his NBA playing days, and added more with endorsements. He’s built a Shaq-sized business empire since retiring from the game, and he continues to rack up wins in business and investing.
Today, NBA superstars are paid astronomical amounts of money, to be sure. On top of that, they earn even more than their basketball salaries from various commercial and other marketing deals. Guys like LeBron James make pretty much the max amounts allowable under their NBA contracts… but that number is substantially less than he makes from off-the-court deals.
But when it comes to salaries players earn from their actual on-court play, O’Neal has seen the numbers, and he says the ladies in the WNBA are being badly underpaid. For a league that’s been around for 25 years, it might finally be time for the women players to – as the cliche says – “get paid.”
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
What’s the money difference? Glad you asked. Two of the biggest names in the WNBA right now are both rookies: Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky star – and Shaq favorite – Angel Reese. Clark is on a four-year, $338,000 contract while Reese is set to make $324,000 over her first four seasons.
On the other hand, the number one pick in this year’s NBA draft Zaccharie Risacher (going to the Atlanta Hawks, BTW), will cash in for about $12 million dollars… for a single-season contract! Even if you go way, way down the draft-pick list, the numbers are still pretty big. The 32nd overall pick in last year’s draft was Jalen Pickett, selected by the Denver Nuggets. He signed a four-year $8.2 million contract with $5.8 million guaranteed. The ladies? Not so much.
To plenty of basketball fans – including many here in the offices of the ShaqFu Radio blog, this has been the breakout year for the WNBA. More and more people are watching – games get good ratings on TV – and the games are filling arenas. Clark’s Fever team has been a sellout ticket in all but three of their games this year. For home games, the Fever are playing in Indy’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the same venue as the NBA’s Pacers. That’s an amazing stat!
Shaq says it’s time for the ladies to start seeing some of the big money. “I’m glad they’re getting their exposure, they definitely deserve it. Now we just gotta get ‘em similar contracts than what some of these NBA guys are making.”
That’s going to be a big job, for sure. Stars in the NBA are paid based on many factors, including TV ratings and broadcast contracts with major networks that can bring in billions of dollars for the league. While WNBA ratings have been up substantially this season, they’re still nowhere near those of the men’s league.
The player’s contract with the NBA stipulates the players get a percentage of the total amount the league brings in from virtually all sources – TV contracts, ticket sales, merch, etc. That means the top player contract in the NBA – for a west-coast guy named Steph Curry – tops the scales at an eye-popping $62.6 million dollars… for ONE YEAR. The WNBA’s biggest single-player contract belongs to Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young, who earns $252,450 annually.
Will WNBA players ever make the same amounts paid to the guys? That’s a very tough question. If it happens, it probably won’t be for a long time. We would have to see NBA-sized TV ratings and other income-producing factor skyrocket to get “The W” up to NBA levels of money. Still, it’s clear that this year’s very popular WNBA season is going to really help bring up the income for the league…and that should mean bigger paychecks for the lady players, too.