Lauren Chamberlain Speaks Out About The Shocking Salary Gap In Sports

Even before being the first draft pick for the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF) in 2015, Lauren Chamberlain was familiar with the pay discrepancy between the female players of the NPF and the male players for Major League Baseball (MLB). That reality hit her with more saliency, though, once discussions of her own salary came up.

Here are the facts: the average salary for NPF players is between $5000 and $6000, and salaries top out at around $20,000 (though those are very far and few between). Comparatively, the average salary for MLB players is $4.5 million, with top-salaried players pulling over $20 million. The highest paid MLB player is Clayton Kershaw, who makes $32,500,000 a year.

Chamberlain – who's been playing softball since she was eight, and received a full ride to the University of Oklahoma to play – is quick to be gracious about the fact that she's even making money by playing a sport she loves. She says that being paid to play is a huge feat for both male and female players, but that doesn't change the fact the wage discrepancy “is a bit disheartening."

Most will be quick to tell you why such a gap exists: fewer people are buying tickets, and fewer people are tuning in, to watch NPF games compared to MLB.

“If there aren't butts in the seats and people seeing the product being used, companies aren't going to want to invest their time or money," said Chamberlain. “But it starts with the viewing. People won't attend a professional softball game if they don't know it exists."

Chamberlain said that what the league and its players are seeking right now is simply an opportunity to be seen. Games are broadcast on TV, including ESPN and ESPN2, sometimes boasting impressive viewership for championship games. However, unless someone explicitly seeks out an NPF game or stumbles onto it while clicking through channels, chances are they won't even know there's a game happening in the first place.

That's certainly not for lack of games, as the five teams play about 50 games each per season. It's also not for lack of excitement. The NPF teams are evenly matched – though some better than others, naturally – and the players are passionate and talented.

Supplementing a Non-Livable Salary

We know what you're thinking. How can you live on $6,000 a year? How can you even live on $20,000 a year? We asked Chamberlain how she and her teammates deal with the pay gap, as well as the general lack of support from the sports community.

“If you sit and dwell on the fact that we get paid less and have less respect, it will leave you extremely upset and you'll lose hope," she said. “I choose to control what I can control, which is ball out every time I have the chance. It is important to let your game speak for itself and draw in fans that way."

She said that there's also a trend for individual players to build their own personal brands, and to do related work on the side that complements their careers and supplements their salaries.

“More and more female athletes are acknowledging how crucial their personal brands are," she said. “Sometimes it is our brand that make us more money than our physical talents. I personally give camps and clinics around the country, and provide individual and group lessons out of Oklahoma City. I do a lot of speaking engagements and different events throughout the off-season, as well."

Sierra Romero, who currently plays for the USSSA, does something similar by offering softball camps and clinics to girls. Both Romero and Chamberlain use this as an opportunity to encourage and champion young female players both as athletes and as blossoming women. The end goal is to instill in them this idea that they should “never shy away from anything simply because they are female," said Chamberlain.

In addition to building personal brands, Chamberlain said that some of her teammates and fellow NPF players are analysts for college-level softball, and that many coach college softball on the side. This works well because collegiate softball winds down in the summer, just as the NPF season begins.

Though these players make it work, there's still plenty of room to rally around the players of the NPF and to support what they do. Chamberlain said, “Let us show you how entertaining we are and get you to fall in love with our game. Let us have that chance."