So, this article was inspired by the comments made by Hope Solo and other members of the U.S. Women's National Soccer team. You can read more about it later, but to summarize, they are unhappy about the pay gap between men and women in sports, especially between the Men's and Women's U.S. National Teams.
Are they right? Should women be paid equally for their work in sports, if they do equal work?
Well, yes and no. It depends entirely on revenue.
In most other careers, if men and women do equal work, then they generate equal revenue, so they should make equal pay. In sports, however, a man and a woman can do equal work, but the man good generate up to millions of dollars more in revenue for his team or his sport. Simply put, the more money that is made, the more the players can get paid.
The thing is, the Women's National Team, or USWNT, actually DOES generate more revenue domestically than the Men's National Team or USMNT. The USWNT is better and more successful than the USMNT, and it is not even close. The USWNT's success has lead to them generating more revenue, ratings, and fans in the United States on a regular basis, so then what's the problem?
In this ESPNW article from 2015, they talk about why the pay gap exists. Basically, it is partly revenues and partly their collective bargaining agreements, but a new CBA passed last year. The problem still persists, despite now generating more revenue and having a new CBA.
So the U.S. Soccer Federation should be able to fix the pay gap, right?
Not exactly.
The U.S. Soccer Federation, the governing body for U.S. soccer, is doing their part to bring the pay together, but there are still two problems, FIFA, and the sponsors.
FIFA, or the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, overseas global soccer (football), and are responsible for a lot of the money that gets paid out in the World Cups.
When it comes to soccer at the global level, men generate way more money than women, and a large part of the money that the USMNT gets over the USWNT is prize money. When there is a difference of millions of dollars between being IN the Men's World Cup and WINNING the Women's Wolrd Cup, then there will be a pay gap.
The pay gap exists in sports when men generate more money than women. It's not as big in tennis because the revenue generated by women is almost the same as the revenue generated by women. The gap is astronomical between men's and women's basketball because the men generate way more revenue, especially in the United States.
Basically, women don't deserve equal pay in sports. Not because they aren't talented athletes, but they don't have the drawing power to bring in the kind of money that men do. If you don't believe me, look at the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes and notice that Serena Williams, the highest women, is 51st.
So if you want more money, make more money. If you want to get paid more, then find a way to generate more revenue and support for Women's sports on an international level. Really, it can't be put any simpler than that.
