A Vox reader asks: Why do people pay more to watch mens sports than womens sports?For all of Caitlin Clarks feats on the basketball court breaking all-time scoring records, taking the Iowa Hawkeyes to two national championships and getting the Indiana Fever to the WNBA playoffs what might be more impressive is the attention shes captured and the sheer amount of people who want to see her play and are willing to pay top dollar to watch her dish dazzling assists and launch 3-point daggers from the logo. In her rookie season, Clark helped the Fever achieve the best attendance in the league over 17,000 people per game, a 265 percent increase over last season and their televised games regularly reached over 1 million viewers per contest. Scalpers were selling tickets outside the arena. At one point in the season, they were asking $250 for a ticket that usually went for under $100, while some secondary market sellers were looking for up to $9,000, CNN reported. Clarks emergence alongside a new generation of exciting rookies and ultra-talented, already-established veterans has created momentum for womens basketball and more generally womens sports. Mainly: People are finally willing to pay more to see womens basketball? That raises the question: Why werent they already? Why have womens sports historically been less popular?At the heart of this question is a pretty simple answer: Men have had decades-long head starts when it comes to sports and professional sporting leagues. To put it in perspective, women were allowed to compete in the 1900 Olympics in five sports; it wasnt until the 2012 London Olympics that women competed in all of the sports that the men were. Similarly, in the US, experts specifically point to Title IX the federal law that bans gender discrimination at schools receiving federal aid and its passing in 1972 as a watershed moment for gender equality in sports. Before that, US schools had no obligation to provide the same athletic opportunities to girls that they did for boys. It broke down existing barriers to entry, allowing women not only to compete but also receive equal financial opportunity tied to sports (e.g., college scholarships ). But when Title IX solidified womens rights into law and protected them from discrimination, the NBA was already over 20 years old. The easy way to think about it is to look at the overall lack of investment, Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor at Syracuse University, told me. Darvin studies womens sports and gender equity in the intercollegiate and professional sports industry. She said that the NBA, and any other major sports league, have had decades upon decades of resources, both external and internal, infused into them. Womens leagues are, relatively speaking, still so young and dont (yet) gather the same kind of attention. The amount of investment thats been put into the NBA it dwarfs whats been put into the WNBA, Darvin said. The WNBA was founded in 1996, almost 30 years ago. The same number of years on the NBA timeline would be the late 70s, when the league was finally established and on the verge of a massive leap in popularity. While the WNBA is growing, it hasnt seen the same kind of trajectory at least not yet. It took decades for teams like the Lakers, Yankees, Arsenal, Bruins, and Packers to become lucrative sports franchises that generate millions in revenue each year and play in arenas and stadiums in front of thousands of people. Some professional leagues count revenue in the tens of billions of dollars. Decades of investment money, advertising, promotion, television deals, sponsorships, etc., have turned teams and leagues into brand names. Thats what youre paying for when youre purchasing a ticket. Thats also why a mens pro sports ticket is usually going to be more expensive than a womens.How does marketing factor into it?The last couple of years in womens college basketball have shown us that womens sports can challenge mens in popularity like, right now. At the 2024 Final Four, tickets for the womens tickets on the secondary market were going double for the price of the mens games. The Caitlin Clark effect was in full motion, and the ratings for Clark and her cohort were at an all-time high. Clarks last two games were the most-watched in history, averaging close to 14 million and, as The Athletic reported, eclipsed mens sporting events like every World Series since 2019, every NBA Finals game since 2017, and every Daytona 500 since 2006. As a researcher, I dont like to say the phrase that the stars align because that just seems so kind of out there but the stars aligning is a piece of it, and thats what happened, right? Darvin said, noting that Clarks skill and flashy, appealing game; the success of the Iowa basketball team; and Clarks marketability and her teams underdog story were all factors in becoming a phenomenon. But what intrigues Darvin is now that Clark has graduated and driven similar sellouts in the WNBA, is whether this can convince people especially those in charge that people are willing to spend more money to see womens sports. One of the trickier reasons about why mens sports are valued over womens is because thats what weve been told they were more important for so long. Clark and Iowa basketball are one of the rare examples when investment, promotion, and media hammered home that Clarks games were worth watching, worth paying for, and even more exciting than the mens teams. Youre steered in directions through marketing, advertisements, and the media you are basically told what youre supposed to like and what you should pay for, and what youre going to enjoy, Darvin said. And what is cool to enjoy and pay for has always been mens sports.Essentially, we were told to value Caitlin Clarks senior season in a way that hadnt happened in womens college basketball. But while Clark is the most recent barrier-breaker, she isnt alone. During her career, Serena Williams and her rivals were at times bigger stories than male tennis players. (Not unrelated: Tennis has been one of the better sports at striving for equal pay.) Simone Biles and the US womens gymnastics team are bigger stories than the American men, and similarly, womens figure skating is usually as popular as mens at the Olympics. Those are all examples, Darvin said, where women athletes fare better when it comes to marketing and publicity. The more womens pro sports are publicized and marketed, the more people are willing to pay to see pro women athletes, and ostensibly the idea is that all this capital turns into growth, opportunity, and equality for women. With more money, perhaps the WNBA will be able to pay rookies more than $76,000 for their first season! A possible sign of progress: Unrivaled, a stateside professional 3x3 womens league debuted in January with a $200,000 average salary per player and a multiyear media deal with TNT. Darvin also notes that college women athletes signing lucrative NIL deals are also changing the playing field and upping their media profiles. If theres one drawback its that if all goes according to plan, eventually well get to the point (in the distant future) where womens pro sports wont be as accessible. Currently one of the debates around the NBA is that the ratings are down and whether thats due to it being very expensive to watch or even attend a game. One of the best things about womens pro sports and womens basketball is that its affordable. Well, they are for now.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: