It’s the aftermath of the Independence Day weekend. It’s July, and the Twins are seriously in contention.
We shouldn’t HAVE to think about Soccer. I’d hope that we are better, as a society, than that. Our forefathers fought and died so that we’d be *free* of things like Eurovision, parliamentary government, and soccer. And this time of year, I like to honor and respect their sacrifice.
But I’m genuinely curious about something, and would love to find some genuine answers.
With the US Women’s Soccer team winning their fourth World Cup, they’ve proven themselves to be the most successful soccer team in the US. Which is a little like being “the best funk band in Sweden”, but certainly deserves respect.
But now, the news is full of their next story – going to court for “equal pay”. The US Men’s soccer team – which qualifies for the World Cup about as often as Swedish funk groups got on Soul Train – gets paid more, for fewer games, and enjoys much less success than the women. They enjoy other benefits – like better hotels, better facilities, better travel arrangements, and not being identifiable as “soccer players” by most Americans. The women play more, are more successful – and, some say, should be paid much better for their time.
I don’t have a problem with that, as far as it goes; also, I don’t care ,because again, it’s only soccer.
Men’s World Cup soccer is, of course, the most popular athletic spectacle in the world. There’s an insane amount of money changing hands due to that Godforsaken sport.
Does anyone know if the US women generate more money than the men do? Or that women’s World Cup, worldwide, generates as much / more money than the men’s sport?
I’ve heard various reporters and opinion-mongers say it’s only be “Fair” for the women to get paid more – but on economic matters, most journos are…well, we’re back to “Swedish Funk Band” analogies again.
Does anyone know how the numbers – all of ’em, not just the cherrypicked ones – break out?
I have no idea knowledge germane to womens’ soccer, BUT…. I’d assume the ontological governing principle on player pay is the same as it is in any professional sports realm, male or gal… that being that gross player pay as a cut of total broadcast, apparel, and advertising revenue is as high as it can be to allow for the whole ecosystem to function as a going concern.
Its to say, there’s a reason WNBA players make $80k or whatever it is they make… and that reason is, that’s whats left after income / expenses to pay them.
Its also to say there’s a reason St. Paul Saints players make $2k a month for June, July, and August, and that reason is….. that’s whats left after income / expenses to pay them.
Its not very sexist at all. Its accounting.
This numbers business is tricky. Fox, you know, the “conservative” network, just carried in excess of sixty hours of coverage on broadcast TV. I think I spent seventy hours tiptoeing around that coverage like one does avoiding surprises walking the sidewalks of San Francisco.
Fox, Google and other organs of communication spent more hours pushing this soccer team on us than they spent telling us Hillary Clinton was the most qualified candidate ever to run for office.
How do you measure such free exposure and then compare ratings? It’s like a Hollywood marketing campaign for a movie that sinks $35 million into promotion and then generates $50 million in ticket sales vs. a movie with no marketing campaign selling $40 million in tickets. The beauty of a free market is we don’t have to rely on connections to soccer-lovers to get paid what we are “worth.”
Still, few numbers come to mind: If those bigots running the U.S. Women’s team had been more open to players making the transition from male to female, I guarantee you we could have taken out the Thai’s by at least 23-0. And perhaps at least a member or two would have agreed to appear at the White House next to President Trump.
Regarding payments made to World Cup participants, that would come out of World Cup revenues, not U.S. stadium tickets/etc.. Below is an article that breaks it down: $130 million for the ladies’ World Cup, $6 billion for the gentlemen.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/07/us-women-soccer-team-equal-pay-lawsuit/
That said, the approximate value of a World Cup win after government subsidies are taken out might well be negative.
Regarding the transgender issue, that could actually make the next game against Thailand a lot more even, as that country has a long tradition of “ladyboys”, including kickboxers. Might be an interesting matchup vs. Megan Rapinoe.
The women play more, are more successful …
Meh. They got their asses handed to them by a bunch of <15 year old boys. Ditto the comments of Mr K.
Fox, Google and other organs of communication spent more hours pushing this soccer team on us
And as I inferred from this if no one watches, who cares how many hours were broadcast? This is the nothing season of sports.
I read an article, that I can’t find now, that stated the reason for US women dominance is that, outside of western countries, girls don’t play a lot of sports. And, soccer is apparently deemed a rough sport, with not many women playing. I don’t follow international sports enough to know if true, but it makes sense to me
Why don’t the women on the team self-identify as men & apply to the men’s team?
Because they couldn’t compete.
They want to be paid like the men, without performing like the men.
The NRP story was titled “Equal Pay For Equal Play.” Equal play? Have the women’s team play the men’s team and prove it.
This is an issue I honestly could not care less about. I have no interest in sportsball what so ever. Let the SJW’s burn it down to the ground for all I care.
All of this discussion is academic. The men and women play in different leagues. Not “leagues” in the sense of difficulty (though that’s also true) but in totally different organizational units. Different teams, different opponents, different schedule, etc.
It would be just as stupid for Major League Soccer (the professional US league) players bitching about Premier League (the English soccer league) player’s salaries.
We could explain economic basics like supply v demand, how value is subjective, revenue vs profit, static numbers vs percentages, etc etc etc, but not only is that fruitless with such idiots, but moot. The women play in the apple league, the men in the orange league. The end.