The league’s current media rights deal is set to expire after the 2025 season, and the NBA, which owns about 60% of the WNBA, Negotiated a new dealBut it’s not official yet. The WNBA’s current media rights are valued at about $60 million a year, but the new structure would put them in the $200 million range per year. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said this spring that she wanted to at least double the league’s annual rights revenue because of growing interest, and the terms would more than triple that.
“The idea that ‘build it and they will come’ has really come to light now that the WNBA is a hot topic,” Engelbert said at the time. “One of the things we wanted was an active free agency system, and that’s what we got. We had a big free agent movement last year, which created excitement, created big name players, created rivalries, created super teams. That’s what you want in a league because it draws people’s attention and it drives value in media rights, corporate affiliations, franchise valuations, everything.”
The increased revenue would have a major impact on the league’s finances as interest in the league and women’s sports in general continues to grow. Dropout is expected The Collective Bargaining Agreement expires this year, and the current contract will expire after the 2025 season, allowing the league and players to negotiate new contracts that will cover everything from the salary cap to benefits and other financial details. Nearly all of the league’s players who don’t have rookie contracts are on short-term contracts in anticipation of the new, increased salary structure. The league is also Two expansion teams Over the next two years.
The NBA’s media rights deal is reportedly worth about $76 billion over 11 years, and some have criticized the WNBA’s arrangement to negotiate rights in conjunction with the NBA, an idea that NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Engelbert oppose.
“Going into the market with the NBA is a huge advantage for us,” Engelbert said this spring, “especially for streaming services that rely on a 12-month subscription model. How attractive is it if you’re only there for four and a half months? But we and the NBA may be the only sports property that can offer 330 days of live programming almost year-round, which is incredibly valuable for a subscription platform.”
Teri Jackson, executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, still has questions about the reported terms of the contract.
“I have been pondering for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,” Jackson said in a statement Wednesday. “With a reported $75 billion deal on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny — or, more accurately, the NBA is in control of the WNBA’s destiny. I am excited to see how the NBA arrives at the $200 million figure.” [annual] “If the initial reports are accurate or close to accurate, valuations will decline. There is no denying that both the NBA and WNBA have seen unprecedented growth by every metric over the past few years, that players continue to work on building their brands, and that fans continue to attend. There is no excuse for underestimating the WNBA again.”
