Charted: Atlanta’s top-paid athletes, by league
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Sports has a gender pay gap, like most industries, and Atlanta is no exception.
By the numbers: Axios used Spotrac, which tracks professional sports contracts, to review the average annual salaries of Atlanta's top-paid players from four teams from the recent year.
- Atlanta Dream forward Cheyenne Parker makes $190,550. Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young makes $43 million.
- Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley makes $21.2 million. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins makes $45 million.
Driving the news: Caitlin Clark was the No. 1 pick at Monday's WNBA draft. Her record-breaking NCAA performance created more interest in women's basketball.
- But Clark's base salary is $76,535. In the NBA, the first draft pick's base salary could be $10.5 million, Vox reports.
Meanwhile: The Atlanta Dream selected forward Nyadiew Puoch and guards Isobel Borlase and Matilde Villa on Monday.
Context: The NBA brought in more than $10 billion in revenue annually, while the WNBA's projected total revenue was about $200 million.
- The NFL made nearly $20 billion.
Yes, but: According to Just Women's Sports, WNBA players receive 50% of the league's incremental revenue. NBA players receive 50% of all revenue.
- That means WNBA players share in only the revenue earned above the league's revenue target for that season. The revenue target goes up by 20% each season, but the actual numbers are unknown.
The bottom line: WNBA players don't get the same revenue share as NBA players. But they can opt out of their current CBA in November and negotiate for a better share, higher pay and other benefits.
What's next: The WNBA season begins May 14.