Sveta, the Seattle Storm, and the Salary Cap

[MilfordHusky]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht..._storm_wins_exhibition_finale_c.html#continue

The team salary cap is well below the NBA average salary by a factor of 2 or 3.

 

[Wbbfan1]

It would seem that if Sveta is still talented enough to play in the Euroleague and WNBA, she's talented enough to make the Russian Olympic team. Got to be politics involved.

 

[cferraro04]

It would seem that if Sveta is still talented enough to play in the Euroleague and WNBA, she's talented enough to make the Russian Olympic team. Got to be politics involved.

Gotta make room for all those Americans that will be playing for the Motherland...

 

[vtcwbuff]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht..._storm_wins_exhibition_finale_c.html#continue

The team salary cap is well below the NBA average salary by a factor of 2 or 3.

Milford - I think the NBA player average is closer to 6 times the WNBA team cap.

 

[RealHusky]

Milford - I think the NBA player average is closer to 6 times the WNBA team cap.

According to this NBA article (http://tinyurl.com/3ubac5m) from August of last year, the average NBA salary was $5.15M which does indeed make it about 5.9 times the WNBA team cap. Of course, the median salary is less...

"In the NBA, using USA Today salary figures for the 2009-10 season, the estimated median salary was about $2.33 million. That's still about 46 times what the median U.S. household earns, but it is less than half what the max-salary-bloated "average" is."​

 

[JimGunther]

I often wonder if the WNBA wouldn't have been boetter off WITHOUT the NBA Sugar Daddy.

It seemed sensible at the beginning but with a total salary of less than $1 million, something just doesn't make sense.
I mean, make their own TV and Advertising deals and run all the teams like a business.

Maybe they DON'T have to play at Madison Square Garden (preumably, they're paying big rent and other overhead there)?
Has anyone done a study on the economics of the WNBA (vs NBA)? Is there a link?

Milford - I think the NBA player average is closer to 6 times the WNBA team cap.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I often wonder if the WNBA wouldn't have been boetter off WITHOUT the NBA Sugar Daddy.

It seemed sensible at the beginning but with a total salary of less than $1 million, something just doesn't make sense.
I mean, make their own TV and Advertising deals and run all the teams like a business.

The reason why the WNBA is on television at all is because of the NBA's deal with ESPN/ABC. Without the NBA, it is doubtful you would see any games on ESPN, as the network could fill the slots with other programming that would likely bring in not only more ratings, but more advertising revenue.

 

[JimGunther]

I'm sure you're right but, in a narrow-cast world where Poker and reality shows have viewers and make money, my gut tells me a good free-standing WNBA product could make it.

Would I invest my Powerball winnings in it? Probably not but......

The reason why the WNBA is on television at all is because of the NBA's deal with ESPN/ABC. Without the NBA, it is doubtful you would see any games on ESPN, as the network could fill the slots with other programming that would likely bring in not only more ratings, but more advertising revenue.

 

[UcMiami]

I often wonder if the WNBA wouldn't have been boetter off WITHOUT the NBA Sugar Daddy.

It seemed sensible at the beginning but with a total salary of less than $1 million, something just doesn't make sense.
I mean, make their own TV and Advertising deals and run all the teams like a business.

Maybe they DON'T have to play at Madison Square Garden (preumably, they're paying big rent and other overhead there)?
Has anyone done a study on the economics of the WNBA (vs NBA)? Is there a link?

I think you needed seed capital to get the league off to a good start and the NBA certainly provided that, and also 'legitimized' the initial effort. You now have two of the more succesful teams divorced from their original 'parent' team (Seattle, CT) so that does seem to be working. But I don't think you could call the league financial secure and I'm not sure how many of the other teams would survive on their own. I am impressed with the following being developed by some of the teams, usually lead by a few charismatic stars.
The other thing when looking at salaries and finances is the extremely short season compared to almost any other US professional sport. It is hard to pay for the overhead of a team when you are playing so few games. I think that gets into why the NBA model is probably still the best financial set-up. You are using some assets of the NBA 'parent' during a time when they are not being used to capacity because it is their offseason.

 

[MilfordHusky]

According to this NBA article (http://tinyurl.com/3ubac5m) from August of last year, the average NBA salary was $5.15M which does indeed make it about 5.9 times the WNBA team cap. Of course, the median salary is less...

"In the NBA, using USA Today salary figures for the 2009-10 season, the estimated median salary was about $2.33 million. That's still about 46 times what the median U.S. household earns, but it is less than half what the max-salary-bloated "average" is."​

I was close on the median. The bottom line--the vast majority of all NBA players who have a full-year contract make more than an entire WNBA team.

 

[RealHusky]

I was close on the median. The bottom line--the vast majority of all NBA players who have a full-year contract make more than an entire WNBA team.

Yes, you were pretty much dead on, Milford.

The men play more games before playoffs (82) than the women (34). Even after adjusting for that fact the median men's salary is $28.4K / game vs. the women's entire team salary of $25.8K / game. (That assumes that the women's team is operating at the salary cap. I am not sure if that is a valid assumption...)