The WNBA All-Star game kicked off on Saturday, and the players elected to make a statement to the league with their warm-up jerseys, which all read: "Pay us what you owe us."
There is no league as tone deaf as the WNBA.
— Jake “JBOY” Crain (@JakeCrain_) July 20, 2025
“Pay us what you owe us” shirts when you have to be subsidized is wild.
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The kind statement has been routine in women's sports in recent years, where athletes regularly call for equal pay. However, the reality is that their games don't draw the same crowds, much less the same revenue, as their male counterparts.
In 2024, the average NBA game drew an average of 1.5 million viewers on national television, whereas the WNBA drew less than half that, at 660,000 viewers. For the NBA, their average viewership represented a 2 percent decline from the previous year, whereas the WNBA set a record high.
In revenue, the NBA drew in $10 billion in the 2023/2024 season, whereas the WNBA got around $200 million. In other words, the revenue of the female players is 50 times less than that of the male athletes. And profit margins are even worse for them, as the WNBA has been operating at a net loss of $40-50 million per year.
The WNBA loses $50 million every year and has NEVER generated a profit. You deserve $0.00. pic.twitter.com/fWWxU0pSt1
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 20, 2025
WNBA’s Brittney Sykes thinks holding up a sign that says “Pay the Players” will make money magically appear.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) July 20, 2025
Let’s be clear, these WNBA players are mostly self-entitled morons.
They are precisely why the league lost over $40M during 2024.
They deserve nothing but ridicule. pic.twitter.com/c1dLpEVxzq
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To make matters more complicated, the WNBA since its founding in 1996 has been subsidized by the NBA. They provide $15 million annually to the WNBA for critical needs like player salaries, marketing, league operations, and facilities. In total since the league's inception, they have received upwards of $400 million from the men's league.
Unfortunately for the WNBA players, what they are owed by the league is a shared debt of around $382,000 a year, combining both their annual profit losses and NBA subsidization. Their average salary is only around $102,000.
Considering the WNBA has never turned a profit, there is basically zero argument the player are “owed” more money. https://t.co/VVLFfjKAm5
— Bobby Burack (@burackbobby_) July 20, 2025
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