DESIGNER

Aiden Chipres

PROFILE/DESCRIPTION

"Article text courtesy of nytimes.com" 

What It Would Look Like to Pay W.N.B.A. Players What They Deserve

The players have a simple ask when it comes to salaries: They want to be paid like the men in the N.B.A. The N.B.A. is bigger and richer than the W.N.B.A.; it brings in 50 times as much in revenue. But the more important difference is how that money is divvied up. Contractually, N.B.A. players get paid roughly 50 percent of what's called “basketball-related income,” which includes most of the league's revenue. The current W.N.B.A.'s collective bargaining agreement does not guarantee that a percentage of league revenue will go to the players. And so even as the W.N.B.A. takes in more money, the league isn't required to share that wealth.

The W.N.B.A. agreement expires on Oct. 31 — and the players want a raise. While the average wage grew from a bit less than $110,000 in 2021 to about $120,000 in 2025, by my estimation the percentage of revenues paid to W.N.B.A. players fell, from 11 percent four years ago to less than 7 percent this season