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Steph Curry says NBA players are 'underpaid' amid Micah Parsons-Cowboys trade buzz
WNBA players recently took a massive step towards pay parity by wearing t-shirts reading ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ during All-Star weekend
WNBA players recently took a massive step towards pay parity by wearing t-shirts reading ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us’ during All-Star weekend ahead of the July 19 game. Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry has now chimed in on the debate during a recent appearance on the ‘360 with Speedy’ podcast, where he suggested that NBA players’ salaries are not in line with the value they add to the team.
Stephen Curry pitches better salaries for the NBA
Curry is set to take home $59.6 million in salary this season, as reported by beIN SPORTS. However, he still feels the figure falls short of the value he and many other underpaid players add to their respective teams.
"I think, because of the way the CBA is structured right now, we can’t participate in equity. And that’s a big deal because it is a partnership with ownership. It’s a partnership with the league, and we’re on the short term of the revenue,” Curry said on the podcast.
He then went on to explain his point by adding, “Those (contract) numbers sound crazy, but what the league is doing, from whatever era you want to compare it to, to now, is probably 10x that. The idea that we can’t participate in equity while we’re playing is part of why I would say yes, we are underpaid, because we want to be able to participate in that rise.”
“Hopefully, sooner than later, those rules change a little bit so that players can participate in the upside of team equity, the league, valuations, and all that type of stuff. Just because I think we deserve it.”
Where do NBA players stand in the athletes’ pay ranks?
When asked by host Speedy Morman if online figures suggesting his net worth stood at $240 million were true, he swiftly changed the topic by saying that he wasn’t sure and didn’t care about it. Although Forbes counts NBA players as some of the highest-earning athletes, Curry still feels there is room for improvement and believes that players’ salaries haven’t increased at the same pace as the league and teams’ evaluations have over the years.
Given the existing discourse on paying WNBA players at the same level as their male counterparts, Curry’s views add a new dimension to this debate.
Posted by Stuti Gupta
