How Women’s Basketball Figures Are Fighting For A More Equal Retirement For Women

The striking thing about TIAA’s effort to promote awareness of the 30% gap between how much men and women make during their earning years, and thus are able to save for retirement, is how it factors into the plans of women’s basketball’s most significant figures at every stage of their careers.

“How I thought about it was to put as much money away as possible,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a phone interview. “As much money as the WNBA allowed me to put away I put away.”

Of course, that was not a huge amount — WNBA salaries during Staley’s playing days were low, and while the league matched retirement contributions, Staley recalled, it wasn’t dollar-for-dollar.

It is a very familiar story for women, in sports or any other industry — a reason why people like Staley, Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne and Maryland Terrapins big Angel Reese are all raising awareness of this gap, aligning around the hashtag #retireinequality.

For Reese, completing her sophomore year at Maryland, her work on Name Image Likeness has already begun as she thinks about how to supplement her income. But it’s not about buying things now — she laughed as she thought about all the shoes she’s elected not to purchase.

“I think that helps me in the long run because I know that I need to save enough money for my future of course,” Reese said in a phone interview. “Because I do plan on playing in the WNBA. But I know that’s not going to be enough. And I mean, thinking about women only receive 30% less in retirement, the gap between women and men. I mean, I think about that all the time. I mean, yes, I love basketball. I tell everyone I love basketball. But I also have to think about other things that can help me bring in income.”

For someone like Delle Donne, side gigs have always been part of the equation, from endorsement deals with Nike and Gatorade to her woodworking startup, Delle Donne Designs.

“I actually think the first time I thought about it was when I was getting my WNBA salary and had to decide how much I wanted to put towards retirement,” Delle Donne said in a phone interview. “And then obviously, the more you put towards it, the more that team will match. So that was something where I was like, Well, I don’t really need to do that — thinking because I was young and not thinking ahead. But I’m glad I did it.”

Staley and Delle Donne credited their financial advisors for getting in their ear early on the vital need to save for retirement. Reese said her mother has been a consistent advocate to do the same. Even so, the financial planning only maxes out what a woman can do with her earnings. Things need to change on the side of how much they make in the first place, which is why when Staley signed her lucrative extension with South Carolina this winter, she had more than just herself in mind.

“it was all about other people, other women,” Staley said of her extension. “…I was making a lot of money. I was comfortable. I put money away, so my retirement was going to be pretty good. You know, if I wanted to retire tomorrow, I’m still okay. But it was solely about the fight — the fight that women have to have to endure, for years and years from years past, and into the future.”

Staley believes her new contract can set a higher bar, just as Delle Donne’s role in pushing the WNBA, through her efforts with the WNBPA, led to a significant increase in max salaries.

It all means something greater than a number in a bank account, though. It means peace of mind. Or as Delle Donne sees it: “[My wife] Amanda’s around me. I’m hoping that I’m around water somewhere. I love water. So hopefully I’m on a beach. Maybe we have some kids, who knows? We definitely would have dog babies… I’ll continue to set us up for the future and both Amanda and I will continue to grow our businesses and do what we have to do to hopefully be laying on that beach one day with a drink in hand.”