WNBA legend Cappie Pondexter has spoken her mind regularly about the gender wage gap.
The recent retiree and 2-time WNBA champion talked to Daniel Flores about the new CBA deal for the league. Some of its highlights include a higher salary cap and paid absence for players on maternity leave. The eight-year labor deal brings the average player salary to $130,000, the first time it reached six figures in WNBA history.
Pondexter referred to it as a “first step” and something that can be potentially groundbreaking.
2x WNBA champion and all-time great Cappie Pondexter (@cappa23) speaks on the new #WNBA CBA.
“It is groundbreaking for not only the players of today but for the players of next generation.” https://t.co/Q0ZlbvOOrO pic.twitter.com/yuVnR4u4vs
— Dan 'dansportsnews' Flores (@dansportsnews) January 15, 2020
I knew that I would never see a million dollars while I played, but I knew that one day I would be able to see a player make a million dollars in the WNBA.
The annual base salary for the highest-paid player in the WNBA goes up from $117,500 to $215,000. Those players currently include the likes of Candace Parker, Tina Charles, Chiney Ogwumike, and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
An NBA elite is guaranteed to become a multi-millionaire just in being so. It would be the case just from his NBA salary and then compounded by any endorsement deals. That kind of reality coming to fruition for females can be huge for the WNBA and its players, who more often than not have to play overseas in the offseason to keep themselves afloat.
The potential for that new reality is possible because of the step taken with this new CBA deal and players like Cappie Pondexter along the way.
