Between the United States and Canada, there are more than 51 professional sports leagues and 625 pro teams available to elite athletes. From this, 6 leagues and 46 teams are available to women. For decades, people have argued against equal pay for females athletes due to their struggle to match attendance records, revenue, and viewership when compared to male athletes. However, it is difficult to make significant progress when female athletes are at a constant financial disadvantage.

The sports industry, known for its high salaries and lavish lifestyles of major athletes like LeBron James and Tom Brady, stands divided. The average salary for male athletes playing in the National Basketball Association is approximately $4.9 million, $4 million in Major League Baseball, $2.4 million in the National Hockey League, and $316,777 in Major League Soccer. There are many factors contributing to a player’s salary including sports performance, popularity of the sport, career length and endorsements. When compared to their female counterparts, however, average yearly salaries are much lower.

Female athletes playing in the Women’s National Basketball Association average $72,000 per year, $10,000-$25,000 in the National Women’s Hockey League, $5,000-$6,000 in the National Pro Fastpitch softball league, and $7,200-$39,700 in the National Women’s Soccer League.

In recent years, many female athletes have fought against gender-based wage discrimination and inequity. In 2016, the top-ranked U.S Women’s National Soccer Team sparked the “Equal Play, Equal Pay” movement after the team received $2 million for winning the 2015 Women’s World Cup, while the U.S Men’s National Soccer Team received “$9 million despite going just 1-2-1 and being knocked out in the round of 16,” according to ESPN. Several players, including current Co-Captains Becky Sauerbrunn and Carli Lloyd, filed a lawsuit against the U.S Soccer Federation. The Women’s World Cup final was “the most watched football match – for both men’s and women’s football – in US history” with more than 750 million viewers according to FIFA, proving female athletes are capable of getting mass viewership. Tennis star Serena Williams, another advocate for gender equity in sports, states “[Women] work just as hard as men do. I’ve been working, playing tennis, since I was three years old. And to be paid less just because of my sex — it doesn’t seem fair,”

In contrast, ability and championships are not enough to justify equal pay within the same sport. Attendance and viewership of female sports is lacking, due to decreased air time and promotion of games. A 25-year study done by the University of Southern California found that 3.2% of airtime goes to women’s sports, while 81.6 percent of said coverage focuses on basketball. Claire Braund, Executive Director of Women on Boards, Australia, explained the stigma against female sports, stating “there was a view that women’s sport is not as physical and not as good to watch”.

There is a long way to go to close the wage gap, but with the growing support of women’s sports, equal pay can become reality.

Soccer: W= Win L= Loss Min= Minimum Max= Maximum

* Friendly matches are international exhibition games. Not part of any tournament.

Basketball:

Tennis:

Golf:

NCAA: