NBA and WNBA Players are Underpaid!
Dr. David Berri returns to podcast about player pay, and more!
Last week I got a real treat as Dr. David Berri (@wagesofwins on Twitter and Instagram) returned to a podcast we used to have called: “Office Hours with Professor David Berri.” The premise of this podcast used to be to discuss his writing at Forbes. Sadly, this was cut short over disputes with Forbes editors about how Dave reported on the NBA and WNBA salary discrepancies. He briefly had an open window to catch up with me, and we discussed many fun topics.
We talk about how many people, in discussing sports or, more recently with COVID, medicine, will seem very certain of things, despite, perhaps, a seemingly less than stellar grasp of the numbers.
Dave Berri has done a soft relaunch of “The Wages of Wins Journal” as a substack — wagesofwins.substack.com. Sadly, a few years of the blog are gone from the old host, but can still be found via the Internet Archive if you’re interested. While Dave’s time is limited now, he may start blogging again if there is enough interest. So let him know you’re interested!
If you’ve heard the quote, WNBA players are paid half as much as their NBA peers. Dave originated that! To clarify, in both the NBA and WNBA, players are paid a portion of the money the league brings in. In the NBA, it’s supposed to be around 50%, although, as Dave explains, it’s closer to 40%. However, in the WNBA, it’s closer to 25%!
We also discuss a fantastic metaphor Dave has used against one of the worst arguments in sports. When people compare the WNBA and NBA, they will often say WNBA teams couldn’t compete with NBA teams. Dave has used boxing as a metaphor. As of this writing, Canelo Alvarez is likely considered the best boxer in the world. However, many heavyweights would easily defeat him, as boxing has different divisions based on weight. Dave also brings up college sports, which garner a lot of attention but are a different division than the major leagues. Different leagues have existed in many popular sports for a long time, and people still watch. So it’s not the best argument.
Of course, we discuss Donovan Mitchell playing at an MVP level with Cleveland. A fact both Dave and I agree with. Dave notes that Mitchell had a huge leap in shooting efficiency, which seldom happens. This is a fun research topic for another day.
We review Dave’s departure from Forbes and recap how Dave was upfront with his opinion and questions for the NBA. In my opinion, it remains a blemish for both Forbes and the NBA to have both pushed back on Dave’s comments on WNBA pay.
Teaser - we discussed superhero movies and Star Wars, which didn’t make this episode, but I will release it in a future podcast. So look out for that!
We discuss writing and oddly compare chapter length to par in golf and scores in gymnastic meets. We’re nerds!
I’d also like to note that it’s looking like in 2023, we might return to more regular podcasting! We’re aiming for about once every two weeks, and Brian and I, in fact did record an episode on Luka Doncic being a rightful MVP candidate two weeks ago! I’ll do a better job publicizing these, likely through this newsletter.