Gender Wage Gap in Sports

Abstract

Differences in wages of male and female athletes has been a common problem that has been debated for years. This paper will answer the question for the gender wage gap in sports. Analyzing data from four main sports: basketball, soccer, tennis, and golf, I look for the empirical evidence of the male/female salary discrepancies and whether they could be attributed to discrimination or to the market outcome. My results for this paper discuss the viewership and ratings of both the female and male sports leagues that are discussed. Basketball and golf both prove that the men earn their money by bringing in more revenue with the help of higher tv viewership and fan attendance. Soccer and tennis both have numbers that are almost equal, but the salaries are higher for the men. The main conclusion for this paper is that salary of athletes mainly depends on their ability to generate the revenue for their team/league.