Sophie Cunningham’s $400 Fine Exposes the 200x NBA-WNBA Pay Gap — And Why It’s Not Just About Money

The Fine That Tells the Whole Story

I watched the replay footage again—Sophie Cunningham giving a middle finger after a call, getting fined $400 by the WNBA. In my world, that’s not a slap on the wrist. It’s an economic sigh.

When your base salary is $152K/year and your worst misconduct costs more than your monthly rent? That’s not incompetence—it’s institutional neglect.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Cunningham made \(304K over two years with Phoenix Mercury. Meanwhile, Stephen Curry made \)5.576M last season—over 36 times her annual income alone. And let me be clear: Anthony Edwards’ $42K in NBA fines this year? That’s 1,050x what Sophie paid.

The WNBA average? \(119K. The NBA? Near \)9M.

This isn’t about ‘fairness.’ It’s about who gets to play in front of cameras—and who doesn’t.

A System Designed to Stay Quiet

I grew up between Koreatown and Santa Monica Beach—not blind to power dynamics. My dad taught me from Sun Tzu: ‘Know yourself and know your enemy.’ We know our enemy: the economic architecture that calls attention only when billionaires lose sleep over ticket sales.

WNBA players aren’t underpaid because they’re less talented—they’re underfunded because no one’s willing to fix it.

So What Now?

I don’t need sympathy—I need data transparency, disclosure, and change. The next time you see a finger raised in silence… ask yourself—who really pays for that moment?