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NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal always shows love for women's basketball, and now he's using his platform for a social cause. The Hall-of-Famer is campaigning for WNBA players to receive fair compensation.
O'Neal elaborated on his declaration, via USA Today's Lindsay Schnell.
“Now it’s time for equal pay,” he said. “They’ve always been great, but the space they’re in now, it’s time for everybody to be getting equal pay. I would love to see one of them make $10, 15, 20 million a year, they deserve it. But the fans have to continue to support … you gotta keep (going) to the games, buying merch, you gotta keep doing all that stuff and the more they do that, the more they’ll get paid.”
O'Neal has made headlines for his mentorship of Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, but his new comments came on the heels of his admiration for the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark.
“When I see stuff on TV I’m like, OK, I’d like to see it in person. Well, I saw it in person,” O’Neal said of Clark. “She can play … from a basketball standpoint, she makes all the right plays, gets everybody involved and she has that Steph Curry (shooting) range.”
With players like Clark and Reese growing the women's game to historic levels, will they ever see the same-sized checks as the likes of LeBron James and Steph Curry?
The WNBA has to keep increasing its revenue
While O'Neal shot for the stars with his $15-20 million-per-year goal, Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum explained that WNBA players simply want the same percentage of their league's revenue that NBA players get, via The Residency Pod.
https://www.instagram.com/theresidencypod/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=c1e42f64-466e-45d0-86bc-232c62434e99
“In the NBA, they have percentages of revenue shared for the players — so, jersey sales, obviously their TV contracts,” Plum said. “But that’s because their CBA negotiates, where the owners are making certain types of money, [the players] get that as well. In the WNBA, that’s not the case.”
Many criticize women hoopers for making unrealistic demands. However, the players understand that the NBA is a more popular and well-established league, with much more funds to pay its players with. WNBA players just want the same-sized slice of the pie as male players get.
“I don’t think I should get paid the same as LeBron,” Plum said. “But the percentage of revenue — like for example: they sell my jersey in Mandalay Bay, I don’t get a dime. So that’s the stuff we’re talking about.”
Luckily, new CBA negotiations begin in 2025, and players like Clark and Reese could increase leverage. As O'Neal said, though, fans must keep financially supporting the league to continue progress.
