BROOKLYN — Like so many others last month, the New York Liberty’s two newest stars were glued to their TVs watching the women’s NCAA basketball tournament. Breanna Stewart, one of women’s basketball’s biggest names, and Jonquel Jones were happy to see the women’s tournament draw so many eyes this year in what ended in a thrilling showdown between LSU and Iowa.
What the two didn’t love was the “us vs. them” narrative that developed over what women’s college basketball players were making through NIL deals and what players in the WNBA made by comparison.
“I think us as women, we’re not gonna fight and say ‘pay us, pay us’ and then because it’s happening on the collegiate level then we’re upset. If women are being paid we’re happy,” Jones said, sitting alongside Stewart at the espnW Summit in Brooklyn on Thursday. “We want that to happen and we want these NIL deals and these sponsors to then move along with the players when they come into the pros. And to continue to invest in women’s sports cause that is how we grow the game. When I sit there and I watch it, and I see all these players making their money, I’m happy for them.”
The success of the women’s college basketball tournament this year and the influx of money to college athletes through NIL deals has drawn more attention to the salary level of players in the WNBA by comparison. College basketball star Angel Reese said after LSU won the national title that she wasn’t in a rush to go pro and that she was making more than some of the players in the WNBA.
Neither Stewart nor Jones is naive to the economics of women’s basketball or the challenges the sport and its athletes face. Stewart has played an active role in trying to improve standards across the league for its players and the WNBA has attempted to raise player pay in the latest CBA.
“I think the biggest thing is, why are we fighting each other? For women’s sports, which receives less than five…
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