Do mascots make more than some female athletes?

The Denver Nuggets mascot, Rocky, is the highest-paid mascot in the NBA. Rocky makes $625K/yr. On the flip side, 3x WNBA champion and 5x Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi is the highest-paid player in the WNBA, and she makes $228K/yr.

As much as this seems unbelievable, it is completely believable. Many people believe that mascots bring more entertainment than female athletes, which is why they deserve higher salaries.

Lots of women are enraged about this. One Twitter user wrote, "The pay gap between mascots and elite female athletes tells you everything you need to know about how the sports industry values women."

Minnesota Lynx player and 5x WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry also shared her thoughts on the situation. "I can learn to be a mascot,” McCoughtry tweeted.

Other mascots in the NBA also have high salaries. Harry from the Atlanta Hawks and Benny from the Chicago Bulls both make more money than Taurasi.

Salaries for mascots are determined based on experience, qualifications, abilities, workload, and the team they represent. This process is similar to how salaries are determined for athletes.

Rocky has been known to do the most entertaining and dangerous stunts, but how is that worth more than a woman playing her heart out on the court?

Stephen Curry is currently the highest-paid athlete in the NBA, and he is making $48 million. This is a massive gap between the salaries of the WNBA and NBA. Sadly, this is to be expected, but mascots making more money than the athletes in the WNBA is surprising.

Female athletes have been fighting for equal pay for years, but now this fight includes being paid less than NBA mascots. This is an eye-opener for many people and shocking for women in sports trying to do what they love.