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Entertainment July 15, 2019
Today's the day for equal pay.
At the 2019 ESPY’s, Sandra Bullock introduced the winner of the Best Team Award by shouting, “All those in favor of equal pay, say ‘I!'” If you’re a sports lover like me or just enjoyed watching the U.S. women’s soccer team bring home the 2019 World Cup, you probably stayed updated on the 2019 ESPY’s (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards). If not, spoiler alert, the female athletes on the U.S. Soccer Team took home the Best Team Award.
Forward Alex Morgan made this powerful statement during her acceptance speech at the 2019 ESPY’s. She touched on the heavy topic of the wage gap that needs attention, using the ESPY’s as a platform for the prevalent issue.
For a team who took home the Women’s World Cup after defeating the Netherlands 2-0 and winning 12 consecutive World Cup matches, these women deserve more. Female professional soccer players have fought for a pay raise for years. The gender gap between female soccer players and their male counterparts is extensive and must be reviewed.
Alex Morgan is estimated to be the richest player on the U.S. Women’s Soccer team. According to Money.com, Morgan will make approximately $3 million in 2019. However, her male counterpart, Christiano Ronaldo, is projected to earn $100 million in 2019. Ronaldo makes almost 100 times more than his female counterpart.
The members of the U.S. women’s soccer team are not the only female athletes to battle for equal pay. The disparity of wages occurs across the board. Forbes released The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes in June 2019, and only one female athlete made the list — Serena Williams. Coming in at a low number 63, the tennis player has a slight advantage over team sports. In The Highest-Paid Female Athletes in 2018, 9 out of the 10 females athletes were tennis players.
For female athletes primarily in male-dominated sports, the disparity is substantial. The Forbes article continues to state the top WNBA salary was $117,500 in the 2018 season, compared to a salary of $37.4 million in the NBA. Subsequently, the reported max salary in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league reached $175,000; while, the Boston Red Sox team will split an earning of $227 million in 2019.
As the industry continues to overlook the gender gap, female athletes may not receive the full compensation they deserve for their athletic talents. However, if sport leagues make small adjustments, athletes have the potential to benefit greatly.
In April 2019, the WNBA announced a TV partnership to televise an additional 40 games on CBS Sports Network during basketball season. The additional televising will give female athletes extra exposure, which could lead to more endorsements for athletes and revenue for the league itself. If more leagues develop this strategy, female athletes could see a rise in wages in the near future.
The fight for wage equality is an ongoing issue around the world; however, female athletes, in particular, experience one of the largest wage disparities. Women have battled for years to be recognized for their capabilities and accomplishments. With the exposure female athletes received from the ESPY’s, women are actively working towards closing the gap and making strides to creating equal wages for all.
