The recently concluded Women’s Premier League auction on December 15 in Bengaluru was a success for the four players who secured over Rs 1 crore in payouts, but it also reflected the wide gender pay gap between male and female sports players.
However, a Moneycontrol analysis shows that Indian cricket league fares better than its US and European counterparts when it comes to salaries for top players.
While the average payout for the 19 players sold at WPL was Rs 47.6 lakh, the 2025 version of the men’s auction witnessed an average payout increase to Rs 3.5 crore, or seven times the WPL auction.
In fact, even in the first auction in 2008, the average payout was nearly four times than that of the women’s team today.
The first auction of WPL witnessed 87 players securing Rs 59.5 crore, with an average payout of Rs 68.4 lakh per player.
The earnings are also reflective of the self-employed workforce in the country.
In urban and rural areas, self-employed men earned nearly thrice as much as women. The wage gap has increased over the past six years when men’s wages were double that of the women in the self-employed group.
But this is not just the case in India. Take the case of soccer in the UK. While the famed English Premier League spent $2.6 billion in transfers in 2024 summer season, Women’s Super League transfers were worth only $6.8 million.
The WSL has been in operation since 2011.
Its more unequal at the top
The difference between the top players' salary is even wider. While Rishabh Pant secured Rs 27 crore in salary, Simran Shaikh’s payout was less than a tenth at Rs 1.9 crore in the recently concluded WPL auction.
In 2023, Smriti Mandhana, the most expensive player with Rs 3.4 crore payout was a nearly sixth of the payout received by English all-rounder Sam Curran at Rs 18.5 crore.
The difference is worse in other leagues. The women’s version of US basketball or the Women’s National Basketball Association’s top pick Caitlin Clark’s contract at $340,000 for four years was 167 times less than NBAs top pick in 2023. Stephen Curry is expected to earn $55 million in one season compared with top woman player's earning of $252,000.
In the case of soccer, Women’s Super League’s top payout for 2024 transfer at 500,000 pounds was 110 times lower than EPL transfer of Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth to Tottenham Hotspur club.
Long gestation periods
An analysis of world’s women’s league shows that leagues require a long gestation period before showing any signs of success.
In the case of WSL, despite being in operation for 13 years and having witnessed a substantial increase in revenues—revenues were up 50 percent in 2022-23 season as per a Deloitte report—losses have also been mounting.
The women’s version of US basketball, or the Women’s National Basketball Association, is yet to witness a profit despite being in operation since 1996. NBA has been in operation for 80 years.
The WNBA is set to lose $50 million in 2024 despite a rise in viewership compared with average annual losses of $10 million until 2018.
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