Women are finally starting to make an appearance in one of the greatest male dominated fields, professional team sports. More and more professional women athletes are signing sponsorship and endorsement deals than ever before. Although women's sports have failed in the past, they have learned from their mistakes. The level of play and competition has improved dramatically.
While the talent is deeper, the cooperate dollar is supportive, and the media is favorable, women's pay trail well behind professional male athletes, but progress is being made. The U.S. Women's World Cup team will now be paid the same salary as the men's team due to a boycott of the Austria Cup. However, other sports trail further behind. Most women's endorsement and sponsorship agreements total in the mid-six figure range for top female athletes; with the range being between $100,000 to $600,000. The "financial gender gap remains visibly pronounced" (Bhonslay, 61). One of the reasons this change is coming about, is because women athletes are becoming recognizable as sports images.
The beginning of this movement began at the 1996 Olympics, where women were portrayed in a substantive way, "not just as sex symbols" (Bhonslay, 61). Basketball, fastpitch softball, and soccer lead the way in visibility of women's sports. Through planning the placement of these professional sports teams, fans will appear, and women's sports will be profitable. This can be seen in the 1999 Women's World Cup of Soccer, where the total attendance drawn was 136,230, an average of 11,352 per game. A crowd of 90,185 watched Team USA defeat China in the World Cup final in Pasadena, California.
What drives corporate America to sponsor women athletic teams is media exposure, and women's leagues are finding ways to get the support they need. Past mistakes have been learned from and diverse approaches are being created to ensure the success of women's athletics - which all come down to the dollar.
References:
Associated Press. "U.S. Women End Boycott". ESPN.com. January 30, 2000. http://espn.go.com/soccer/news/2000/0128/320902.html. May 17, 2000.
Associated Press. "U.S. Women Will Be Paid As Much As Men". ESPN.com. February 2, 2000. http://espn.go.com/soccer/news/2000/0130/325121.html. May 17, 2000.
Berg, Aimee. March 1997. "The Numbers Game: This Time Around the Success of Women's Pro Sports Boils Down to One Thing: Money.". Women's Sports and Fitness. V 19 n 2 p 34(6).
Bhonslay, Marianne. September 1997. "Women
For Sale". Women's Sports and Fitness. v 19 n 7 p
60(3).