Professional sports revenues are rapidly increasing because of the seemingly insatiable appetites for unique TV programs. While President Obama is hard at work reviving the economy, the unproven rookie in the MLB is earning way over that figure. This quote suggests the importance of teachers in our society, rendering the fact they should be paid more than professional athletes. We are told female athletes are paid less than men because they generate less money. The gap varies by industry, according to Payscale: the legal profession has the worst discrepancy at 64%, while arts, entertainment and sports comes in well above average at 94%. 31, 2021 as the NCAA March Madness tournament heads into Final Four games just days later on Apr. The existence of world tournaments and professional leagues highlight the reason why female athletes should be paid less than their male counterparts. In fact, each basket Kobe Bryant scores earns him equivalent to the average classroom teachers yearly salary. In team sports, though, the picture for women is bleak. Its about $56,000for a schoolteacher and nearly $74,000 for an emergency room nurse. In team sports, its more difficult to stand out, says Scott Minto, the head of the MBA sports program at San Diego State University. In 2019, 14 million people watched the U.S. Womens National Soccer team defeat the Netherlands to win the FIFA Womens World Cup10.5 million more viewers than their 2001 finals appearance. Pro. The top ten highest-paid women in 2019 were all tennis players when a decade ago the top-ten list included NASCAR, ice skating and golf. This reason is why the athletes should get high salaries, because they travel far, leave their families and risk their life. However, its not the athletes fault that their wages are so high. By far the most ubiquitous solution is paying college athletes. Why Female Athletes Should Be Paid the Same as Male Athletes - The Swaddle Aspiring athletes get to be superstars because they have some type of rare talent. Two major moments in this dispute include: The SBNation site Stars and Stripes compiled a full timeline of the USWNTs negotiations with U.S. Soccer over the years. The gender pay gap spans almost every industry, and sports is no different. In 2019, little had changed: soccer star Lionel Messi made 125% more than tennis star Serena Williams. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) is a nonprofit organization formed in 1906 that regulates college athletics, including game rules, athlete eligibility, and college tournaments. Group licensing deals in theory can allow lesser-known players to reap the benefits of appearing alongside a well-known player. Additionally, while most teenagers or college-age students spend their free time studying, working or hanging out, student athletes aiming to qualify for the pros spend all of their free time training. Respondents were split 50/50 in a June 1, 2021 New York Times survey about whether the NCAA strictly limiting paid compensation is constitutional. do professional athletes deserve their inflated salaries? Should women athletes earn the same as men? The - The Conversation Sports betting is now legal in the majority of US states. [46], The University of North Carolina became the first school to organize group licensing deals for student athletes in July 2021. Tennis players may earn up to $10,000 in prize money yearly while playing college tennis and college football players may earn up to $550 in bowl gifts. The women have asked for $67 million . There is still quite a ways to go to close this gap, but the NWSL is making changes to offer more competitive compensation. TakeScottie Pippen, who, despite being a vital asset that lifted both Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, played most of the 1990s under what is consideredone of the worst contractsin NBA history. At first, it was a great place to watch athletes play sports while making sure the rules were being followed. Also, think about whod get the money if the athletes made less. Should College Athletes Be Paid? - The New York Times But, with all this growth, are mens and womens earnings in line? Do you feel that female athletes in your community are treated equally to male athletes? Explain your answer(s). A sergeant with six years of experience made $32,814. The suit is still ongoing. Gender equity in tennis has been in the spotlight for decades, stretching back beyond Billie Jean Kings threat to boycott the 1973 U.S. Open. [48], A 2019 Seton Hall Sports Poll found that 60% of those surveyed agreed that college athletes should be allowed compensation for their name, image, and/or likeness, while 32% disagreed, and 8% were unsure. 81 other head football coaches made more than $1 million annually and another 29 more than $500,000. Men's sports generate higher revenue, so male athletes are paid higher salaries. Tennis has made moves to increase equal pay between their male and female players, and today all four major tennis tournaments offer equal prize money. The WNBA generates roughly $25 million. Maybe highly paid athletes (along with team owners) should have to pay a special tax that would help fund better salaries for firefighters, teachers, nurses, and other people who work for the greater public good. [32] Discrepancies between mens and womens sports such as the weight room during the 2021 NCAA basketball tournament would only worsen. Check back soon for more announcements and tutorials. Explore the NCAA site and think critically about the organization as the governing body of college athletics. [28]. Both are undoubted NBA legends, but which of the two has been a bigger winner? Without the players, the leagues wouldnt exist. [11], Additionally, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case (National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Shawne Alston, et al.) Under the terms of the agreement, the women a group of several dozen current and former players that includes some of the worlds most popular and decorated athletes will share $24 million in payments from U.S. Soccer. Face Off: Should female athletes make as much as their male For years, another major difference in compensation came in the form of revenue sharing. Major League Baseball is a $10 billion-in-revenue giant while the NPF players make an average of $5,000 to $6,000 because of the league's low revenue. Proper citation depends on your preferred or required style manual. The pay disparity in professional soccer exists at an international level as well. This month . College athletes may also play a second sport professionally and be compensated, such as Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker who earned a $1.4 million baseball signing bonus from the Colorado Rockies in 2010 while still playing football for the Tigers. The truth is, some professional athletes make huge salaries because millions of people are happy to pay money to see those players make the amazing catchesand breathtaking plays we love to watch. ), the National Football League (N.F.L. In recent years,corporate culturehas creeped into some sports leagues. Top U.S. mens player: Andy Roddick, $2,187,719, Top U.S. mens player: John Isner, $411,414, Average of U.S. women in top 100: $1,484,559, Top U.S. womens player: Serena Williams, $4,266,011, Average of U.S. women in top 100: $307,343, Top U.S. womens player: Sofia Kenin, $3,012,043. U.S. Soccer appears to have gotten the message, and the two sides will pursue mediation after the World Cup to resolve the gender-discrimination lawsuit instead of going to a courtroom. : The 100 debates that govern your life, written in a way that tells both sides of every story. players had reached out to the American soccer players and their union for help as they sought better pay and working conditions. This supports the notion that some athletes get too caught up with how much they are earning and might begin to lose focus of why they wanted to play in the first place. For example, a student athlete will be compensated for the sale of a jersey featuring their name, or for a sponsorship deal in which they appear wearing a UNC jersey. Judge Judy makes about $45 million per year. Data analyzed from the Department of Labor showed nine out of 10 new jobs were going to employees with college degrees in June 2018. NBA players receive about 50% of the leagues revenues. What puzzles me even more, is how after holding out for weeks, and sometimes months, the owners give in and pay them what they don't deserve. In the N.B.A., the average annual salary was $7.1million. 1. [29] [30], Further, most college programs do not generate the income needed to run their athletic programs, much less pay athletes. Many more try, but don't even come close. Next, some MLB players will earn more in one game than the average American household makes in 10 years. How much should a teams record of winning or losing major competitions matter? Women athletes work just as hard as men.