Rocky, the NBA mascot who earns almost triple the highest paid player in the WNBA

How much do pets charge NBA? They undoubtedly represent one of the most iconic figures in the major basketball league, but fans don’t usually know much about them. One of those ‘mysteries’ is his salary, which has been revealed a few weeks before the start of the 2022/2023 season.

The portal Sports Business Journal brought to light the salaries of franchise mascots, who earn an average of 60,500 euros a year. The best known, however, charge much more. It is the case of bennythe bull of chicago bulls; Gothe gorilla of the phoenix sunseither Hugothe hornet of Charlotte Hornets. Their salaries range between 101,000 and 403,000 euros per year.

Above all of them is another: Rockythe famous wildcat of the Denver Nuggets. The mascot of this franchise is the best paid of all those in the league, with a salary that reaches 630,000 euros per year. The revelation of the media specialized in economic matters in the world of sports has caused some controversy.

[La WNBA quiere dar más dinero a las jugadoras para que no compitan fuera tras el caso Griner en Rusia]

The discussion has been started by a very critical tweet that has been published by Angel McCoughtryplayer of the Minnesta Lynx and five times all-star of the WNBA. The power forward has referred to Rocky’s salary to denounce the salary gap between the mascots of the NBA and the players of the presumably best women’s basketball league.

“I can learn to be a pet,” McCoughtry wrote. In the post he added the comment of Caroline Fitzgeraldwhich noted that “the pay gap between mascots and elite athletes tells you everything you need to know about how the sports industry values ​​women,” and another comparing Rocky’s salary to Diana Taurasithe highest paid player in the WNBA.

Taurasi, of the phoenixmercuryhas three WNBA rings and five Olympic golds, and is on the highest salary scale in the league along with Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm) and her teammate Breanna Stewart. They charge 230,000 euros a year, that is, almost three times less than the highest paid mascot in the men’s league.

The median salary difference between NBA and WNBA players is beastly. Men are around 8.58 million euros and women are at 103,690 euros.

These are the top players with the highest salaries in the NBA and the WNBA (in dollars):

NBA

1. Stephen Curry: 48,070,014

two. John Wall: 47,345,760

3. Russell Westbrook: 47,063,478

Four. LeBron James: 44,474,988

5. Kevin Durant: 44,119,845

WNBA

1. Diana Taurasi, Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart: 228,094

two. Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner: 227,900

3. Natasha Howard: 221,450

Four. Tiffany Hayes: 215,000

5. Chelsea Grey: 206,267

We would love to give thanks to the author of this short article for this awesome material

Rocky, the NBA mascot who earns almost triple the highest paid player in the WNBA