One of the top stories in the global sports industry has been the spike in consumer and commercial interest in women’s sports. In the U.S., the most high-profile example is the Caitlin Clark-led elevation of NCAA and now WNBA women’s basketball. But the trend extends into a variety of sports across the world, as fan bases, revenues, and club valuations are all on the rise.
Deloitte has projected that women’s elite sports globally will drive $1.28 billion in revenue in 2024, up 300% since 2021 and the first time the women’s sector has surpassed the billion-dollar benchmark. Despite the recent growth and promising future, however, the women’s game must overcome many challenges before achieving true equality with men.
Disparities Abound
Clark’s signing with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever shone a light on salary disparities between female and male athletes in team sports. The 2020 WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, which boosted salaries significantly, included a minimum salary for women’s players with at least three years of service of $72,000 as of 2022, compared to NBA rookies’ $925,258. These imbalances exist worldwide, whether in football, hockey, rugby, or cricket.
Emily Henrich, a center on the U.S. national rugby team, the Eagles, says women and men are finally receiving equal pay on rugby tours this year. They are paid per diem, however, meaning that athletes not selected for a tour or unable to compete due to injury are not paid. Like many female athletes, Henrich looked for more stability by joining an international side, Premiership Women’s Rugby’s Leicester (U.K.) Tigers. “That’s the main option, to move across the world, away from your family and friends, which is a hard decision to be forced to make,” Henrich says.
And, while her salary is guaranteed, total team remuneration is £190,000, split among 45 players. According to Metro Sport UK, the average salary of a senior men’s player in Premiership Rugby, the top tier of the English club game, is £171,187-in other words, more than 40 times what the women make.
Meanwhile, women often have inferior stadiums, training facilities, kits, and physio. “Women need access to the same facilities as men,” says Sam Murray-Hinde, a partner at Howard Kennedy (London, United Kingdom: England and Wales) and member of the Meritas Sports Law group. “When fans see women playing at bigger stadiums where men play, it reinforces that this is not a lesser game. Some women don’t even have changing facilities and are often using kit and equipment passed down from men.” She notes that football clubs such as Chelsea and Arsenal are starting to provide equal access and support, a step in the right direction.
There are lifestyle considerations as well. Lachlan Thorburn, director at Bennett & Philp Lawyers (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) and a member of the Sports Law Group, is a long-time women’s softball coach, currently with Softball Tasmania. “Some of the women on my team have to travel an hour and a half to train with me four to five days a week when they are in a job or a medical internship with low or no pay,” he says. “They have to get grants or self-raise the money to fund their training. They put having a family on hold so they can fulfill their career while they do other jobs, or they go to a different sport that is not their first choice so they can play and earn. There’s a long way to go to give the athletes the security they need.”
Things are improving as federations and individuals globally are fighting for equality and are earning some wins in salaries, training resources, endorsement contracts, and more. But there is still considerable work to be done.
Why the Unequal Playing Field?
Experts point to a number of factors behind these challenges. First is the lack of investment. Deloitte estimated that just 14% of all sports investment deals went to women’s sports, with another 34% encompassing both women’s and men’s. Brands are also less likely to reach out to women for endorsement deals, licensing and merchandising, sponsorships, and the like, although recent successes are making them take a closer a look.
The relative lack of investment and commercial support is often attributed to a lack of media exposure and fewer ticket sales for the women versus the men. However, games in WNBA basketball, UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup football, and NCAA volleyball, among others, have attracted record attendance in recent years, outperforming equivalent men’s competitions. “The stadiums are packed, and the turnstiles are turning over, and there is increasingly TV coverage,” says Thorburn. “Someone’s making money, but it’s not the athletes.”
So what can be done to create a more equitable landscape for women’s sports? Some important contributors are likely to include, among others:
- filling more leadership roles with women,
- setting goals and ensuring progress is being measured,
- marketing the sport to highlight positive role models and encourage investment, and
- creating gender-based budgeting that considers the varied impacts of decisions on men’s and women’s sports.
It is also important to enlist men’s athletes and organizations as allies. In 2023, the Football Association of Wales achieved equal pay for their men’s and women’s teams, with the men taking a 25% pay cut to enable an increase for the women. “That’s male allyship,” Murray-Hinde says.
And in tennis?a sport that was at the forefront of equal pay decades ago?ATP Tour and the Women’s Tennis Association, which already collaborate in many ways, are exploring additional ways that the two organizations and their respective players and tournaments can all work together. As referenced in phase 2 of ATP’s “One Vision” plan, the governing bodies of professional tennis, including the ATP and WTA, are working together to unify governance, commercial opportunities, and events. “This is unique in the world of sports that the men’s and women’s governing bodies of a professional sport are working together in ways that benefit the players, the tournaments, and the fans of the sport,” says Meritas Sports Law Co-Chair Chris Dix, shareholder at Smith Hulsey & Busey (Jacksonville, Florida, USA).
Sports lawyers can help uplift women’s sports by advocating for their clients in contract negotiations and taking gender equity into account when delivering legal advice. “Sports lawyers can have a role in helping build these voices and make change,” Thorburn says.
Outside law firms?such as those in Meritas’ Sports Law group?are in a unique position to help by being able to bring best practices from other sports and regions into the conversation. Being able to share information like this is invaluable to lawyers as they assist athletes, governing bodies, clubs, and commercial partners around the world in creating a more equitable, profitable landscape for everyone.
About the Meritas Sports Law Group
Backed by the Meritas network of nearly 9,000 commercial lawyers in over 90 countries around the world, the Meritas Sports Law Group provides expert legal advice across the full spectrum of regulatory, contractual, commercial and transactional issues and supports clients through their disciplinary proceedings and commercial disputes. The Group advises on a full range of sporting organizations, associations, clubs and individuals across numerous different sports, including American Football, Athletics, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Cricket, Disc-golf, Equestrian, Esports, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, Rugby, Motor Sports, Soccer, Skiing, Skating, Surfing and Tennis. To gain the winning edge learn more about the group on the Group’s website.
About Meritas
Meritas is a global alliance of independent, market-leading law firms that provides legal services to companies looking to effectively capture opportunities and solve issues anywhere in the world. Clients benefit from local knowledge, collective strength, and new efficiencies when they work with Meritas law firms. The personal attention and care they experience are part of Meritas’ industry-first commitment to the utmost in quality of service and putting client priorities above all else. Founded in 1990, Meritas has member firms in 243 markets worldwide with nearly 9,000 dedicated, collaborative lawyers.
This article was originally published by Law.com.
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