Charles Barkley rants about WNBA players being forced to play in 'crap countries,' demands more exposure
Charles Barkley believes WNBA players deserve more opportunities. In an appearance on ESPN2’s broadcast of the women’s basketball national championship between LSU and Iowa on Sunday, the NBA Hall of Famer took a strong stance on the matter.
Barkley argued that the disparity of marketing opportunities between women’s and men’s basketball players has to change. He cited the fact that many WNBA players play overseas during the league’s offseason to make extra money to balance out a comparably low salary to that of NBA players.
“The WNBA is a great product, but y’all should not have to go to these crap countries to make money,” Barkley said. “The American companies should put y’all in commercials, they should partner with y’all. Even if they don’t put you in commercials, they should partner with you, go back and improve these communities. I’m after these American companies to step up so y’all don’t have to go play in these other countries. They need to do their part.”
According to a 2022 article from NBC Sports, the average salary for a WNBA player is $102,751 across 151 players. Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi and Jewell Loyd were tied for the highest salary in the league at $228,094. The lowest-paid player in the league made just $1,607, with eight players making less than $10,000.
Compare that to the NBA, and it’s not difficult to see a massive difference. The minimum salary for rookies in the league is $953,000 and the average salary for the 2021-22 season exceeded $7 million. Warriors guard Steph Curry is currently the highest-paid NBA player, making more than $48 million this season.
But the difference goes beyond just what teams pay their players. Charles Barkley went on to explain that he believes the real key lies in companies not being willing to partner with WNBA players in commercials. He said that it seems even “bad” NBA players get more opportunities than some WNBA superstars.
“I don’t understand why these companies haven’t been partnering with y’all for years and years,” he continued. “You ladies should be on commercials everywhere. We put bad NBA players in commercials before some of y’all superstars. That’s what makes me mad. I’d love to have Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi on commercials. I’m not going to call out some of the bad NBA players we got in commercials but y’all know who they are.”
The WNBA is not even 30 years old, as it was founded in 1996. The women’s game has grown a lot since then and has continued to gain popularity this season thanks to college players like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and South Carolina‘s Aliyah Boston. However, as Barkley stated, it’s clear there’s still more work to be done.