The gender pay gap in Soccer is 2.5x the size of the gap in Esports

Introduction

The gender pay gap is no secret in the world of football. Despite record viewing figures for the Women’s Euros, and the Women’s World Cup, wages on the women’s side of soccer are still significantly lagging behind. Although the gender gap is a well known issue in the world of physical sports, the team at sportingpost.com wanted to look into the world of esports, and if a gender pay gap persisted in this industry?

Key Takeaways:

• Out of the top earners, male soccer players earn 116x more than female players

• For every dollar a female soccer player makes, a male soccer player earns $116

• For every dollar a male soccer player makes, a female player earns 0.009 cents

• Amongst the highest earners, male esports players make 48x more than female esports players

• For every Dollar a female esports player has made, a male esports player has made $48

• For every Dollar a male esports player has made, a female esports player has made 2 cents

• The gender pay gap in soccer is 2.5x the size of the gap in esports

Male vs Female Soccer Wages

Total Earnings: $10,029,205

Average Earnings: $501,460

Pay Disparity:

The infamous Cristiano Ronaldo, earns $213,557,000, whilst the stalwart center back Steph Houghton earns $1,400,000. This equates to CR7 earning 152 times more than the highest paid footballer in the Women’s game.

Average Earnings:

At the level of the highest earners, the average wage of male footballers is$58,327,818, whereas the average wage of female footballers is $501,460. This demonstrates a significant disparity in average earnings, with male footballers earning around 116 times more on average than female footballers.

Impact of Individual Earnings:

The presence of a few exceptionally high-earning male footballers significantly skews the overall earnings for male players, contributing to the pay gap. Meanwhile, female footballers' earnings are more evenly distributed, resulting in a smaller average and total earnings.

These figures illustrate a stark inequality in wages between male and female footballers, with male players earning substantially more across the board. This wage gap reflects broader gender disparities in sports, with male athletes generally receiving greater financial compensation and opportunities compared to their female counterparts. Addressing this issue and achieving pay equity in sports remains an important challenge for promoting gender equality in the field of professional soccer and in society as a whole.

Total Earnings: $1,166,556,364

Average Earnings: $58,327,818

Male vs Female E-sports Wages

Total Earnings: $101,769,862

Average Earnings: $5,088,493

Pay Disparity:

The top male esports player, N0tail, has earnt $7,184,163, while the top female esports player, Scarlett, earnt $454,392. This means that the highest-earning male esports player makes approximately 16 times more than the highest-earning female esports player.

Average Earnings:

The average earnings of male esports players are $5,088,493, whereas the average earnings of female esports players are $106,626. This demonstrates a significant disparity in average earnings, with male esports players earning around 48 times more on average than female esports players.

Impact of Individual Earnings:

Similar to the situation in football, the presence of a few exceptionally high-earning male esports players significantly skews the overall earnings for male players, contributing to the pay gap. Female esports players' earnings are also impacted by this disparity, resulting in lower average and total earnings.

Total Winnings: $2,132,510

Average winnings: $106,626

Taking the above figures into account, we can see that the gender pay gap amongst the highest earners in the soccer world is 2.5x that of the same in the esports industry.

How come there is such a pronounced gender pay gap in esports?

In theory, the esports industry should be a level playing field regardless of gender - so how come there is still such a pronounced gender pay gap in the competitive gaming industry?

Unfortunately there is no easy answer other than plain misogyny. AVALLA, the first female overwatch coach, was quoted in a 2018 interview saying she gave up being a player due to the “the difficulties of joining a team house with other [male] players.”

Indeed, studies have shown that voices perceived to be female in video game chats are significantly more likely to be subjected to harassment and abuse.

Despite general popularity in Esports increasing, along with the a burgeoning Esports betting market, this is seemingly not translating to a significant closing of the gender pay gap. Although the gender pay gap is reportedly closing little by little, the above figures indicate that there is some ways to go in the sporting world.

Methodology

Sportingpost.com took the top 20 highest paid male footballers comparing total earnings and average earnings to the 20 highest paid female footballers - just looking at on-field earnings. We then did the same for e-sports players, comparing the gender pay gap between the two sporting disciplines.

Sources

https://fbref.com

https://sportsbrief.com

https://www.forbes.com

https://www.esportsearnings.com/