LeBron James is a wealthy man, and he’s making a great deal of money for the Lakers. It may surprise you, but he earns more than the entire WNBA salaries combined.
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A new collective bargaining deal in 2021 helped WNBA players earn a lot more money than they were used to making. However, the point remains that the disparity between women’s and men’s sports still stands.
All-star guard Jewell Lloyd is the highest paid WNBA player on a per-year basis after she signed a two-year, $463,030 contract for a salary of $231,515. Meanwhile, the veteran minimum in the NBA is at $1.81 million.
The WNBA and women’s sports across the world are looking for ways to find equal pay, but the fight remains long and tough. New Zealand broke major ground in this venture when they announced that their women’s cricket team would earn the same money from matches as their men’s team.
The NBA and WNBA are still a ways off this mark. Recently, a post went viral showing how LeBron’s salary was more than the WNBA’s entire salary, and if that doesn’t show the gap between the two leagues, nothing does.
LeBron James and a host of NBA athletes earn more than the WNBA
In 2021, the collective bargaining agreement for the WNBA gave players more money. The base super-max salary was set at $221,450 for the 2021 WNBA season while the base max deal was $190,550.
The minimum a player could make is $58,710. The new CBA set a higher salary cap too. The cap was set at $1,339,000. This money is distributed among the 11-12 players on a WNBA roster.
With 12 teams in the league, a salary cap of about $1.3 million sets the total salary in the league at roughly $15.6 million. Of course, not all teams occupy at the cap, and so the total salary for the league stands at the $12 million mark mentioned earlier.
LeBron James’ 2021 salary more than triples that total salary. He earned $37 million for the season, showing that he’s head and shoulders above the entire league.
Of course, it’s not just LeBron who’s making more than the WNBA. Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and about 100 other NBA players earned more than the $12 million mark the WNBA is set at.
LeBron James’ figure is easy to compare as he’s the face of the NBA, but the numbers show just how much work needs to be done to attain equal pay and opportunities for men’s and women’s sports.
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