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The WNBA is in a period of incredible expansion. There is a new wave of excitement about women's basketball over the past few years, fueled by young superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Now the players in the WNBA are hoping for a big raise during their current CBA negotiations.
The Athletic's Ben Pickman does not believe that the W's previous financial losses should impact the current CBA negotiations.
“Frankly, like we don't know how profitable or not profitable or what revenue the WNBA brings in,” Pickman said on No Offseason: The Athletic's Basketball Show. “We don't know that for a lot of leagues and a lot of sports teams don't make money. Don't generate profit during a given season because of just what the expenses of a team do. And yet clearly the business is going well because think about all the records and think about all the people again that are trying to get into the WNBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers expansion group, the Detroit group, the Philly group. Those are billionaire owners. They're not just trying to invest in the WNBA anymore because they're getting told you must do it or because they think it is a charity. Like they view this as an opportunity to get incredible return on investment.”
The WNBA will add two new teams during the 2026 season. They will also add three more teams by the 2030 season, adding expansion franchises in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
Pickman pointed out that not only is the league growing, the teams are becoming more valuable.
“And we have seen WNBA team valuations increase rapidly,” Pickman added. “You know, in recent years, the Liberty were sold in the five to tens millions. Five to seven years ago. Now they recently sold a minority stake at $450 million dollars.”
For context, the WNBA's most recent expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, paid $50 million to join the W. However, the three expansion franchises listed above each paid $250 million to join the league.
The WNBA also received a huge new $2.2 billion media rights deal last year. That will create even more revenue for the W.
Ultimately, Pickman's point is that the league's past failing do not impact its bright future.
“You know the question of what the WNBA was or was not in the past is kind of irrelevant to this current moment,” Pickman concluded.
It will be exciting to see the WNBA continue to grow throughout the rest of the decade.
