Financial
Wage disparity
The gender pay gap in professional sports is a multifaceted issue that reflects broader societal inequalities. While the disparity in earnings between male and female athletes is often significant, its roots are complex, intertwining cultural, economic, and institutional factors. Professional female athletes, notably in sports like basketball, football, and tennis, have historically received significantly lower salaries and endorsements compared to their male counterparts.
There is a significant wage disparity between the men’s and women’s football. The average Women's Super League player earns £47,000 a year, while men in mid-table Premier League clubs are earning 100 times more. Arsenal Women's Defender Leah Williamson reportedly earned £200,000 last season, nearly eight times the average UK salary but only a fraction of top male players' earnings. England's men's captain, Harry Kane, earns £362,000 in a week, and top players like Cristiano Ronaldo earn around £3 million a week.
Sponsorship/broadcast revenues
Additionally, there is also a disparity in the sources of revenue for women’s football. There's a significant disparity in ticket income, with average top Premier League tickets at £65 and WSL standing tickets at £9. This is also evident in broadcast rights as the premier league attracts an estimated £10 billion from broadcasters, while the Women's Super League has a UK TV deal worth just £8 million a year. At the beginning of November, the National Women’s Soccer League in the US announced a new $240 million domestic TV deal with ESPN, Amazon and CBS. This move has caused a stir in the sports broadcasting industry as TNT Sports is predicted to bid for the WSL live rights.
Furthermore, brand sponsorship for professional athletes continues to generate tens of millions of pounds per season. Football boot sponsorships continue to generate big flows of income for male football players For example, Erling Haaland signed a 10-year £19.3 million a season boot sponsorship with Nike in April of last year. Whereas, Sam Kerr who plays a forward position for Chelsea F.C. Women signed a 13-year $1 million a season boot sponsorship with Nike in August of last year. Notably, female football players are still struggling to find boots specifically for women. ACL injuries in female athletes have been described as an "epidemic" in the UK. Football injuries, in particular, account for nearly half of all ACL reconstructions and about one-third of all playing time lost due to injury. There are concerns higher rates of knee injuries among female players are linked to boots designed for men. There have been some developments to solve these issues which we will discuss later in Section 3.
A survey by RunRepeat found that an increase in the accessibility of women’s football could lead to viewing figures shooting up by more than 350% globally. Notably, the WSL has also seen an increase in popularity and investment. The growth trajectory of women’s sports is on the rise, with increasing popularity and revenue streams. According to a report by Deloitte, the global women’s sports industry is predicted to grow to be worth more than a billion dollars. This growth is driven by the ability of women’s sports to generate substantial TV audiences, deliver value to sponsors, and draw tens of thousands of fans per event. As stated previously the success of the Lionesses at the Euro’s increased interest in women's football is expected to lead to better TV and sponsorship deals.
Nonetheless, there is a stark wage disparity between men's and women's football with men earning substantially more in salaries, ticket sales, and sponsorship deals. There are signs of positive change in women's football, notably in the Arsenal Women's team. The success of women's football in recent tournaments, growing popularity, and increased attendance at matches indicate a promising future. The women's game is still relatively young, and the gap in financial rewards is expected to reduce over the coming seasons. The equality in match fees and the investment in women's football, such as the £50 million from the National Lottery and the £2 million for a new grassroots girls' program, reflect a commitment to growing the women's game. In conclusion, although the women's game lags the men's in financial terms, the trajectory is upward, and the gap appears to be narrowing. The Arsenal Women's team, among others, stands as a testament to the potential and growth of women's football, with the hope that continued success and investment will bring further parity in the future.
This issue is not just prevalent in football but also in professional basketball leagues. In 2017 Forbes reported that NBA players receive 50% of the revenue generated by the association, in comparison to WNBA players receive 20% which is less than half of that amount from their association. Moreover, WNBA players earn substantially less than their male counterparts. The NBA's minimum salary is more than 10 times the WNBA's minimum salary. Stephen Curry was the NBA’s highest-paid player $37 million in 2017, whilst reigning WNBA most valuable player Sylvia Fowles made only $109,000 in 2017. Research on the NBA and WBA has found that the wage gap exists because of both discriminatory and non-discriminatory factors, such as cultural devaluation of women's sports, limited opportunities, and market dynamics like monopsony exploitation. The complexity of measuring productivity in sports as a factor in the wage gap is also discussed, alongside potential policy solutions like childcare support and equal opportunity initiatives.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research focuses on the disparities between the NBA and WNBA, noting stark differences in salaries, revenue sources, and the percentage of revenue allocated to players. The NBA enjoys higher ticket sales, sponsorships, and television deals, contributing to its larger revenue, which in turn supports higher player salaries compared to the WNBA. The WNBA players receive a significantly smaller share of league revenue than their NBA counterparts, highlighting a major factor in the pay gap.
The lower earnings of female athletes reflect the lack of sufficient resource allocation by sports organisations to female athletes. Therefore, they might prioritise other essential expenses such as training, coaching and sports medicine professionals, which can manage the risk of sports injuries over comprehensive insurance coverage potentially leaving female athletes underinsured. As we’ve discussed earlier the awareness of increased injury rates like ACL tears and concussions in female athletes could lead to specialised injury prevention and rehabilitation coverages, but this may not come to fruition if sports organisations do sufficiently allocate funding to support such policies.
From an underwriting perspective, the lower financial stakes in women's sports may affect insurers' risk calculations, potentially leading to higher premiums or less favourable terms due to perceived lower return on investment from sponsorships and earnings. Throughout this piece, there has been a heavy emphasis on the need for customisation of policies for female athletes, but this may be possible if insures understand the limited revenue sources available to female athletes and address unique risks they face based on their financial means.
A recent Deloitte report reveals that the WSL has more than doubled its revenue over two seasons. WSL clubs saw a 50% rise in revenue to £48m in the 2022/23 season, more than double since the 2020/21 season, with a forecast to reach £68m by 2024/25. Cumulative matchday revenues also grew to £7m, and average attendance hit 5,616, nearly 200% up from the previous season, partly due to the Lionesses’ EURO 2022 win. Commercial revenue grew to £17 million, with Manchester United, Manchester City leading and Liverpool and Tottenham following but all reporting commercial revenues of over £1 million.
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