Women in Sports: Pay, Viewership, and Trends (2026)
Women's sports is the fastest-growing category in professional athletics — but still a fraction of the media spend, prize money, and franchise valuation of men's. This page tracks the numbers on participation, pay, viewership, and the leagues closing the gap.
By specialty
| Specialty | Women (%) |
|---|---|
| WNBA Roster Spots | 100% |
| Head Coaches in WNBA | 58.3% |
| General Managers in WNBA | 50% |
| NCAA D1 Head Coaches (women's teams) | 42.1% |
| NCAA D1 Head Coaches (men's teams) | 2.1% |
| NCAA Athletic Directors | 25.9% |
| MLS / Top-5 Men's League Coaches | 0.6% |
| Professional Referees (WNBA) | 41% |
| Professional Referees (NBA) | 5.6% |
| ESPN On-Air Talent | 28% |
Pay gap detail
Pay gaps in professional sports are extreme — but they're also changing fast. The US Women's National Soccer Team won equal pay in 2022; the WNBA's 2025 CBA brought starting salaries to 92% of NBA G-League rates. The persistent gap is at the top: LeBron James's 2024 salary is more than the entire WNBA roster's payroll combined.
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Top WNBA salary (A'ja Wilson, 2025): $208K. Top NBA salary (Steph Curry, 2024-25): $59.6M. Ratio: 0.35%.
Spotrac Salary Tracker · 2025
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US Soccer equal pay deal: women's team received $24M in back pay + prize money shared equally through 2028. First major federation equal-pay settlement.
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2024 WNBA viewership grew 170% over 2023 — the fastest year-over-year growth of any US pro league.
Nielsen / ESPN (2024) · 2024
Trend
The inflection point for women's professional sports was 2023-24 — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and a new WNBA media deal combined with soccer's post-2019 World Cup surge. Viewership, sponsorship, and franchise valuations all broke prior ceilings.
| Year | Women entering (%) |
|---|---|
| 1972 | 7% |
| 1990 | 33% |
| 2000 | 42% |
| 2010 | 43% |
| 2024 | 44% |
Patient outcomes
Research on girls' sports participation and later-life outcomes is strikingly consistent — participation correlates with higher educational attainment, better mental health, and higher lifetime earnings.
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Title IX-driven increases in high school sports participation caused a 20% rise in women's college attendance and a 40% rise in women's labor force participation in affected cohorts.
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Ernst & Young survey of 400 female C-suite executives: 94% played sports; 61% played at college level or higher.
Sources
Frequently asked
What's the top-line WNBA vs NBA salary gap?
A'ja Wilson's 2025 salary (~$208K) is roughly 0.35% of Steph Curry's top-of-league NBA salary ($59.6M). The new 2025 CBA narrows the gap at entry level — starting salaries are now 92% of NBA G-League — but elite-tier pay remains vastly different.
When did US Soccer achieve equal pay?
May 2022. The USWNT and USMNT agreed to identical pay structures through the 2028 CBA, including equal prize-money sharing from World Cups.
Are women's sports viewership numbers growing?
Fast. WNBA viewership grew 170% year-over-year in 2024 — driven by the Clark/Reese rookie class and increased broadcast distribution. The $2.1B 11-year media deal announced in 2024 is 4× the prior deal.
Does playing sports help women's careers?
Strongly correlated. The 2014 EY survey found 94% of female C-suite executives had played sports; 61% at college level. Causal research (Stevenson 2010) on Title IX shows real effects on educational attainment and labor force participation.
How has coaching representation changed?
In 1972 (pre-Title IX), ~90% of NCAA women's coaches were women. Today, ~42% are. The 'unintended consequence' of Title IX is that women's coaching became a pro career path, and men moved in.