ABL vs. WNBA

The WNBA is better endorsed by major apparel companies and television stations. They have contracts with NBC, ESPN, and Lifetime. Thirty-three games were nationally televised in 1997. The ABL has contracts with BET, Fox Sports, and various radio stations. Reebok advertises that it sponsors the ABL "from the ankles up." Nike sponsors the WNBA. In both leagues the players are free to sign with any shoe company they choose. With sponsors, ABL players are making up to $250,000 a year. WNBA players make approximately the same, but receive less of their money from salary. If the player seeking a league is primarily interested in becoming famous, the WNBA is the place to go. With the nearly unlimited funding of the NBA, the WNBA has better marketing abilities. They can even make babies famous: when Sheryl Swoops had her baby, Michael, in his little WNBA outfit, became almost more famous then his mother. And the WNBA is taking advantage of it too. Commercials are being made about him; even baby WNBA suits are being sold. The ABL markets, but you really have to be interested in the league before you start really hearing about them. If you want information, you have to look.

Then there are the little things that, at first glance, don't seem important. Things like that small (women's collegiate ball 28.5 inch circumference) funny-colored ball that the WNBA uses. Or the fact that the WNBA plays with a smaller two-point range, or has a longer shot clock. These suggest that the WNBA believes they have to lower their standards because women can't play as well as the men. The ABL uses a "men's" ball and the "men's" two-point range and the "men's" shot clock. They achieve better field goal percentages, better free-throw percentages, and higher point totals per game.

In the final comparison, the ABL and the WNBA both have strengths and weaknesses. The WNBA treats women's professional basketball more like a novelty, but they have more money and more resources for promoting players. The ABL does not have the financial advantages of the WNBA, but they are able to attract the best players because they treat women's basketball with respect.

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