DEMENTIA JOE FAILS TO UNDERSTAND HOW UNIONS BUILT THE MIDDLE CLASS.

For the first time in my memory, people beyond the usual sports circles paid attention to the women's professional basketball draft.  Caitlin Clark goes No. 1 to Indiana Fever; Angel Reese joins Kamilla Cardoso on Chicago Sky.  There will be good news at the end of this post.  First, though, we have to deal with Dementia Joe.

Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all.

But right now we're seeing that even if you're the best, women are not paid their fair share.

It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 16, 2024

Red State's Mike Miller called out that post as well as the illogic behind it.

Like clockwork, Joe Biden has jumped on the bandwagon of those criticizing Caitlin Clark's rookie WNBA contract. Also like clockwork, Biden used the same worn-out Democrat Party talking points we've heard for decades as the basis of his predictably hollow argument.

Let's first revisit Clark's contract.

As we reported on Tuesday, under the 2024 WNBA rookie scale for the No. 1-4 draft picks, the league's top pick will earn a base salary of $76,535 in her first year, $78,066 the second year and $85,873 the third, with a fourth-year option of $97,582. The predictable harpies were aghast — and most had no idea what they were harping about.

That contract scale? Sorry, it was not worked out in Calvin's Get Rid Of Slimy girlS clubhouse.

Clark will earn $338,056 over four years, according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement.

Under the 2024 WNBA rookie scale for the No. 1-4 draft picks, she'll earn a base salary of $76,535 for her first year, $78,066 the second year and $85,873 the third, with a fourth-year option of $97,582.

That's right, dear reader, a collective bargaining agreement, running some 350 pages.  You know, just like one stipulating that a passenger train crew can time-slip the railroad for having to switch out that baggage car, or another establishing craft classifications and stipulating that the electrician, and the electrician alone, throws the switch to turn the rolling mill back on.

There's a logic to those contract scales.  It's called "leveling the playing field."  Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso will play for bragging rights in the rebounding statistics without invidious comparisons of their salaries in the locker room or among the Chicago sports pundits, who, with the Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, and White Sox to cover are a cranky lot already.  Indiana got to pick first because their team had the worst record last season; as compensation they get to pick first, leaving the teams with sequentially better records a smaller pool of talent to pick from.  And yes, there are all sorts of elaborations on why that collective bargaining agreement and that draft order arose: stuff for some future mini-dissertation.  Furthermore, picking first is no guarantee of future results (see, e.g. Fields, Justin and Love, Jordan.)

In order, though, for the pay scales to be commensurate, don't the employers have to offer customers (fans in this story) commensurate value propositions?  Back to Mike Miller.

Now my two favorite parts: "fair share" and "what they deserve."

Fair share as determined by who? Based on what criteria — other than the Democrat Party's attack on America's wealthy, and "profiteering" corporations? The same logic applies to "what they deserve."

In the Democrat mind, which now embraces equity over equality, "what they deserve" amounts to little more than full-blown socialism: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." Those whining about Caitlin Clark's "unfair" contract perfectly illustrate the point.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) recorded total revenue of $10.58 billion in 2023, an increase of $500 million over 2022. In contrast, the WNBA was projected to bring in between $180 million and $200 million in league revenue in 2023. The league started play in 1997 and has yet to turn a profit.

Moreover, in the 2023 season, WNBA average attendance was 6,615 fans per game, while NBA average attendance was 18,324 this past season, and 71 percent of the games were sellouts.

In the Democrat mind, the above is immaterial, although valid analogies abound.

If company "A " is thriving and company "B" is barely hanging on, should company "B" employees be paid the same amount as company "A" employees? If one movie is a blockbuster and another one flops, should the profits from the blockbuster be shared with the flop? Should the top salesman at a car dealership share his commissions with the bottom salesman? Again, the analogies are endless.

In the Democrat mind, facts don't don't matter.

To his point about the "top salesman" let us consider how Caitlin Clark, or perhaps the Sky's new skyscrapers, will be able to harvest some share of the league's value proposition for themselves.

A WNBA spokesperson said Wednesday that the $76,000 sum is just a part of what Clark will make in the league.

“Caitlin Clark stands to make a half million dollars or more in WNBA earnings this coming season, in addition to what she will receive through endorsements and other partnerships, which has been reported to already exceed $3 million," the league spokesperson said.

Beyond the rookie base scale salary, she'll also make earnings through league and team marketing agreements.

There's more to that "beyond the rookie base scale."

Caitlin Clark is not only the greatest women's college basketball player in history, but she is also a proven and very lucrative brand. Later in the article, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says that the NIL deals are "just called endorsements in the pros."

Clark has handled the heat of the spotlight exceedingly well. She's been able to perform at the highest level and not get distracted by the media circus around her. Barring injury, she'll be the greatest thing that ever happened to the WNBA. As the father of a female athlete, I'm not one of those knee-jerk, "Women's sports are boring" guys. I'd much rather watch Caitlin Clark than most of the pampered headcases in the NBA. In fact, the late great John Wooden once said of women's basketball that it's "a more pure version of the sport."

The increased television exposure that Clark will bring to the WNBA will greatly increase her bank account via endorsements. She knows that.

That television exposure is one of the elements determining the value of rookie contracts.

The WNBA plays a shorter 40-game, four-month season compared the to NBA’s six months. The NBA has also existed longer (and has more teams) and is now finishing its 78th season, while the WNBA is in its 28th.

A big chunk of the money behind the game comes from media rights. The NBA’s national media deals see the league cash in $2.8 billion this year, while the WNBA will make around $65 million this year for its media rights.

More eyeballs, better ratings, maybe more ad buys from dealers in products more people buy.

Much has been made of Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary with the Indiana Fever.

Per The Athletic's Shams Charania, Clark is finalizing an endorsement deal with Nike that will come with a signature shoe and secure an eight-figure contract for Clark, per the report.

Specific numbers weren't reported. But her anticipated contract with Nike will dwarf her WNBA contract that's scheduled to pay her $338,056 over four years. Clark will earn a base salary of $76,535 as a rookie. It's a number that was negotiated long before Clark turned pro as part of the WNBA's collectively bargained rookie wage scale.

The salary numbers are jarring considering that Clark built a multi-million-dollar brand as a superstar at the University of Iowa. Her ascent as an elite playmaker and college basketball's all-time leading scorer landed the Hawkeyes in back-to-back national championship games.

"Jarring" is such foolish editorializing.  Until recently, college athletes could not trade on their images, that being a sin against the rubric of "amateur athletics."  It's likely, as well, that many professional athletes make more of their money from their endorsements than from their play: and those endorsements can continue well past the final whistle.  How many different commercials, dear reader, did you see featuring Charles Barkley during the past tournament?

The salaries for Clark and her rookie counterparts aren't commensurate with the proven value many of them established as college players. While the WNBA figures out how to capitalize on that value and — presumably — ultimately return it to the players, Clark and others will likely look to endorsements for the bulk of their income.

For Clark, that means riches courtesy of a reported bidding war for her endorsement. Per Charania, Adidas and Under Armour also made "sizable offers" to Clark that she appears ready to turn down in favor of Nike. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry — who has his own signature shoe with Under Armour — sat in on negotiations with all three companies, according to the report.

In order for there to be a bidding war, there has to be a value proposition for bidders to bid for.  File that under "future elaborations."  It's not as straightforward as it looks.

I promised to close, for those of you who have stuck with me through this post, with good news.

Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso have spent much of their college careers battling in the paint. But after Monday’s WNBA draft, one of the most anticipated in league history, they’ll finally be on the same team.

Both Cardoso, the Brazilian number 3 pick from the University of South Carolina, and Reese, a Baltimore native who was picked seventh out of Louisiana State University, were selected by the Chicago Sky — creating a formidable duo.

“I’m just so excited I get to play with Kamilla,” Reese said shortly after being picked. “I’ve been playing against her since high school.”

Similarly, Cardoso expressed excitement about playing with Reese — who, like Cardoso, brings height and strength to the frontcourt. (Cardoso is 6 foot 7 and Reese is 6 foot 3.)

“Two great players together, nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us,” Cardoso joked during a press conference after the draft.

What did I tell you about players having to switch from playing against each other to becoming teammates?  Your reminder: "People who play at that level have to keep the rivalry professional, as, because of national teams, or the way the transfer portal, free agency, and trades work, your opponent today is your past or future teammate." More importantly, for fan interest and for that value proposition, are we going to see basketball tourism between Chicago and Indianapolis as the season unfolds?