Women of Impact: Santia Deck on breaking barriers and tackling pay disparities

First of two parts

Santia Deck is in no need of an introduction. When she signed a multimillion-dollar deal with the Women’s Football League Association, she became the highest-paid woman in professional football history. Although, that’s not the whole story when it comes to Santia Deck.

Deck is not only an athlete, but also a businesswoman and exercise expert. She made progress in the sports clothing and footwear industries when she started the shoe company Tronus, which is an area that not many athletes go into. She also writes books and gives motivational talks where she tells her story to encourage young women to go after their business and sports goals.

Her impact goes beyond the game because she is active on social media and in the community, where she supports women’s health and equality.

Deck is determined and driven, as I found out in my exclusive interview with her. She went from being an athlete to becoming a CEO, making a brave move into the clothing market with Tronus. She wants to get more people to watch women’s sports, is interested in the business side of women in sports and cares what the future holds for businesses run by women.

Pay gaps and women in sports

In our conversation, Deck talked about the ongoing problem of pay gaps in professional sports, focusing on the differences between male and female players. She used sharp numbers to show the problem: “I think the minimum contract like a rookie can receive is like $1.1 million, you know, around that. And I think the highest ever recorded for outside of, of course, Caitlin’s (Clark) contract, highest before her was around, I think it was $246,000 or something around there.”

Deck’s words show that there are still big financial gaps in sports. For example, female athletes often make a small portion of what male athletes do for the same jobs and accomplishments. Deck also talked about what these pay differences mean for the growth and acceptance of women’s sports in a wider sense. She said that getting financial equality is important for more than just fair pay; it’s also important for raising the image and standing of women’s teams in general.

Deck brought attention to the need for structural changes by pointing out these pay gaps. She said that more watchers and more business investments are necessary to fix these financial imbalances in sports.

Learning to handle money

Also, Deck wants all players to learn how to handle their money, but she wants young college students who make a lot of money to learn it the most. She told me that there isn’t enough financial help out there and that players would be better able to handle their money if there were more structure to their training.

Deck talked about how people are moving from sports to long-term financial success. She used the great lives of a few famous players to show how well they’ve handled their money and fame. She gave Serena Williams, LeBron James, and Shaquille O’Neal high marks and said that they made smart business and investment decisions that made their names known outside of sports.

“There are a few athletes that I’m, like, oh, wow. Like they are what I’m striving for, like the Serena Williams, you know, her with her investing in her funds and things like that. LeBron James and how he’s a billionaire. He’s still an athlete, an active athlete. That’s almost unheard of,” Deck said.

She said that players need to have strong support systems, like coaches and financial experts, to make sure they can keep up their lifestyle and earnings after they stop playing sports. She believes players should start planning their earnings early in their jobs to avoid any problematic issues that can arise after they retire.

Coming from a poor family and becoming a famous player with a lot of money, Deck shows how important it is to get skilled help and handle your money well. Deck talked about how good money management and careful planning have changed her life and made her job easier.

“I think it goes to show having the right team around you, having the right agents and managers around you, and just having people that understand, there has to be life after sports,” she said.

The story of Deck shows how important it is for players to have skilled advisers who can help them make smart decisions about money, investments and life after sports. By making deals with pros, Deck was able to increase her earnings and make sure that her success on the field led to long-term growth and financial security. This approach not only made sure she would have money, but it also set a standard for how athletes could keep their wealth and high standard of living after they retire.

Making use of social media for business

Deck talked about how social media had affected her work as an athlete and in business. She talked about how social networks like Instagram helped her make the switch from sports to business.

“I started posting my track and field workouts. I was posting what I was eating. And all of a sudden, my following just started like growing rapidly,” Deck explained, showing how interesting content can be used strategically to gain and keep a large audience.

Deck also talked about how having a strong online profile helped her get working with companies and getting sponsors. This showed how powerful it is to have both social media impact mixed with business acumen.

Not only did this digital strategy make her more visible, it also laid the groundwork for her business ventures, such as Tronus, an innovative shoe company. Deck’s story showed how effectively using social media can expand an athlete’s influence beyond their sport and open up business opportunities in the competitive world of digital marketing.

How to support women’s sports

During the whole talk, Deck made comments about what needs to be done to give women’s sports the same amount of funds and public attention as men’s sports. She stressed how important it would be for women to support and watch more sports so that female players can get paid more. Deck pointed out that players won’t get fair pay until more women watch WNBA games. This shows that there is a direct link between sports fan participation and financial support.

Deck was very sure that things would be very different if the women who watch the NFL showed some of their football zeal for women’s teams like the WNBA. The leagues will be easier to sell and last longer because of this change. It will also help make sure that female players are paid fairly. For wages to be fair and the league to grow, Deck said many times during our conversation, it is important to get a lot more people interested in women’s sports.

Deck talked about how economic factors affect the growth and success of women’s sports teams. She said that sports groups depend on things like ticket sales, merchandise sales and marketing deals, but these are much smaller for women’s sports than for men’s.

“Ad dollars matter. Are people actually wanting to spend money during the games? Are people tuning in to the games? And until the WNBA pulls in more of that, which we’re hoping happens this season, they’re not gonna be able to pay players the salaries that they deserve,” she said.

She said that low ratings mean less money from ads, which makes it harder for teams to pay competitive rates and find and keep good players. This cycle hurts women’s sports and prominence. Deck used these economic obstacles to emphasize the necessity for deliberate steps to increase women’s sports leagues and commercial appeal and financial stability to level the playing field.

Read more on Women of Impact: Santia Deck and a revolution in impact investing | Julie Castro Abrams and how women lead | more articles in this series here.