How much do pets charge NBA? They undoubtedly represent one of the most iconic figures in the major basketball league, but fans don’t usually know much about them. One of those ‘mysteries’ is his salary, which has been revealed a few weeks before the start of the 2022/2023 season.
The portal Sport Business Journal brought to light the salaries of franchise mascots, who earn an average of 60,500 euros a year. The best known, however, charge much more. It is the case of Bennythe bull of Chicago Bulls; Gothe gorilla of the Phoenix Sunso Hugothe hornet of Charlotte Hornets. Their salaries range between 101,000 and 403,000 euros per year.
Above all of them is another: Rockythe famous wildcat of the Denver Nuggets. The mascot of this franchise is the best paid of all those in the league, with a salary that reaches 630,000 euros per year. The revelation of the media specialized in economic matters in the world of sports has caused some controversy.
[La WNBA quiere dar más dinero a las jugadoras para que no compitan fuera tras el caso Griner en Rusia]
The discussion has been started by a very critical tweet that has been published by Angel McCoughtryplayer of the Minnesta Lynx and five times all-star of the WNBA. The power forward has referred to Rocky’s salary to denounce the salary gap between the mascots of the NBA and the players of the presumably best women’s basketball league.
“I can learn to be a pet,” McCoughtry wrote. In the post he added the comment of Caroline Fitzgeraldwhich noted that “the pay gap between mascots and elite athletes tells you everything you need to know about how the sports industry values women,” and another comparing Rocky’s salary to Diana Taurasithe highest paid player in the WNBA.
I can learn to be a mascot pic.twitter.com/8wZlQNbJqP
— McCoughtry (@angel_35) October 5, 2022
Taurasi, of the Phoenix Mercuryhas three WNBA rings and five Olympic golds, and is on the highest salary scale in the league along with Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm) and her teammate Breanna Stewart. They charge 230,000 euros a year, that is, almost three times less than the highest paid mascot in the men’s league.
The median salary difference between NBA and WNBA players is beastly. Men are around 8.58 million euros and women are at 103,690 euros.
These are the top players with the highest salaries in the NBA and the WNBA (in dollars):
1. Stephen Curry: 48.070.014
2. John Wall: 47.345.760
3. Russell Westbrook: 47.063.478
4. LeBron James: 44.474.988
5. Kevin Durant: 44.119.845
WNBA
1. Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd y Breanna Stewart: 228.094
2. Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner y DeWanna Bonner: 227.900
3. Natasha Howard: 221.450
4. Tiffany Hayes: 215.000
5. Chelsea Gray: 206.267
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