More than 41,000 fans turned out to watch the Arsenal Women face off against Manchester City Women’s team to open up their seasons in the Women’s Super League (WSL) at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday Sept. 22. On the same day at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, some 52,846 fans showed up to watch the men’s teams play for Manchester City vs Arsenal.
The men’s teams only brought in 13% more fans, yet the average player gets paid more than five times the annual salary of the women players — every month. As the gaps between the men’s and women’s teams in attendance and sponsorships close, shouldn’t the hotly contested wage issue also finally find resolution?
The average WSL player makes 47,000 pounds a year while the average male equivalent in the Premier League makes 250,000 pounds salary — a month — and the lowest wage in the whole men’s league is 180,000 pounds a year. These are both the top divisions in England for their genders.
An even more embarrassing statistic is that the average fourth division male soccer player in England makes 127,000 pounds a year, three times more than the average top women players.
The argument has always been that the men draw in better attendance and sponsorships. Yet the women’s soccer game drew more fans than half of Premier League stadiums can hold.
The brand deals are starting to flow the women’s way with the WSL now streaming on Sky Sports in the UK and on ESPN+ in the U.S. Plus, Barclays Bank struck a 45-million-pound, three-year deal to be the league’s main sponsor.
The Premier League has a similar deal worth 75 million pounds for four years, not too far away from the women’s.
The women’s social media accounts on TikTok, X and Instagram are gaining popularity in both Europe and North America. One of the most popular players, recent retiree Alex Morgan, has 10 million followers on Instagram, and she is getting brand deals to make extra money. Aitana Bonmati, arguably the best women’s player right now, has 1.7 million Instagram followers. Although these numbers can’t compare to the men’s top players, especially Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi with 640 million and 504 million followers respectively, the women still bring in respectable numbers.
Team Instagram accounts are also gaining followers and clicks. The Barcelona Women’s team has 6.4 million followers, a sizable social media following, especially considering the account just debuted in November, 2015. The Barcelona men’s team Instagram has 130 million followers, however, the men have been growing this audience since the beginning of Instagram in November, 2012.
With more sponsorships flowing their way and their growing following on social media, it’s time for the pay gap between men’s and women’s teams to shrink, if not disappear altogether.
