2024 has been a revolutionary year for the WNBA, a league that witnessed the stunning arrival of rookie sensations Catlin Clark and Angel Reese. From Rookie of the Year storylines, intense head-to-head battles, and a booming social media appeal, women's basketball is making its way to the epicenter of the sports world, thanks to these two.
The rise of the sport's popularity has moved NBA icons like LeBron James and especially Shaquille O'Neal to become vocal activists for the game. As the WNBA capitalizes on the striking appeal of its current stars and the influx of future ones, discourse about player contracts will continue to fill the public eye.
Shaq says it's time
Jackie Young, the highest-paid player in the WNBA, will earn roughly $500,000 over the next two seasons. Steph Curry, who just signed a one-year contract extension, will earn nearly $56 million next season. Without going into the ifs, ands, or buts about anything, it isn't hard to see why female basketball players won't be making even a fraction of what male basketball players earn any time soon.
Yet O'Neal, who earned roughly $300 million over his Hall of Fame career on the court, is here to advocate for massive change.
"I love it, especially for women," said the Orlando Magic icon on the rise of women's basketball. "Listen, they've always played great; they've always played hard. I'm glad they're getting the exposure. They definitely deserve it. Now we just gotta get 'em similar contracts as what some of these NBA guys are making."
Historic rise of the WNBA
Shaq sat courtside to watch Clark's Indiana Fever take on Reese's Chicago Sky on Friday night. The recent uptick in current and former NBA stars attending WNBA games only begins to describe the global fanfare the sport has received in 2024. According to ESPN, the league generated a whopping 1.32 million viewers in the first month of the 2024 season, nearly triple the number of last season's average of 426,000. Merchandise sales also rose nearly 240% from 2023, with Clark leading the way in jersey sales.
The gender pay gap doesn't appear to close anytime soon; however, women's basketball's new television deal, set to commence ahead of the 2026 season, will inevitably raise the numbers on players' contracts. The TV deal — with Amazon, Disney, and NBCU — is reportedly worth over $2 billion, with the potential to hit $3 billion with additional incentives.
While Clark and Reese are the two biggest draws of women's basketball, NBA players elevating their female counterparts have taken the WNBA's visibility to another level. We can now say something that perhaps couldn't have been said confidently about the league before. The future is incredibly bright.
Related: "HI HATERS" - LeBron James hypes up Caitlin Clark after her terrific performance vs. Angel Reese
Most Popular
Comments / 0