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The WNBA is about to get another gigantic influx of cash.
Two years after announcing a $75 million raise from outside investors, the league is expected to secure a new media rights deal that could net up to six times what the W earns under its current agreement.
The WNBA could receive $2.2 billion in media rights fees over the next 11 years, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. That’s an average of $200 million a year, and sources tell Vorkunov that the league will have the opportunity to earn even more.
Compare that to the WNBA’s current deal, which comes out to around $50 million annually with Disney, Ion, CBS, and Amazon as media partners. The six-times multiplier comes with the possibility of the WNBA bringing in additional media partners.
The league and its existing partners will also be able to revisit the value of the deal after three years with “good faith talks” to reflect the league’s growth.
It gets better, with Vorkunov reporting, “The league anticipates it will sell two other rights packages in addition to the ones it has already made agreements for, and projects to bring in another $60 million annually in total in those additional deals.”
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert had hoped to at least double the league’s media rights earnings in the next deal, and it appears the league will far outpace that.
The WNBA Is Already Setting Ratings Records
The first month of the WNBA season, which featured Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s pro debuts, was the most successful month in league history by TV ratings.
Games in that first month averaged 1.32 million viewers, almost tripling last year’s first month average of 462,000, according to ESPN.
Through the first half of the season, two of the three Clark vs. Reese matchups (Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky) stood atop the standings of the most-watched broadcasts. Both averaged more than 2 million viewers.
“What’s happening now in women’s basketball is confirmation of what we’ve always known: The demand is there, and women’s sports is a valuable investment,” WNBA chief growth officer Colie Edison said in a release. “We’re encouraged by growing engagement across all our verticals, especially as we welcome new and diverse audiences into our fandom. The WNBA continues to experience sustained growth as our league embraces this heightened momentum.”
The league added that it experienced a 96% increase in Hispanic viewers and a 67% increase in Black viewers.
The Timing: WNBA Players Are About To Opt Out of Their CBA
The WNBA began a new collective bargaining agreement in 2020 that gave players a hefty raise in salary and in opportunities to earn additional money through events like the Commissioner’s Cup.
But the upward trajectory the league was on at the time has gone from a steady climb to a straight-up rocket launch, led by the additions of rookies Clark and Reese, joining a league that featured two super-teams making the WNBA Finals last year.
The players will have the opportunity to opt out of the CBA at the end of the season and renegotiate terms more reflective of the league’s current standing.
Charter flights, which are outlawed for individual teams in the current CBA, have already become a league-wide institution. That will surely be codified in the next edition.
The salaries will also increase when you factor in skyrocketing attendance and ratings, and that massive new media rights deal. For context, the current minimum salary for players with 0-2 years of experience is $64,154. The maximum veteran salary is $208,219.
Both figures would rise steadily over the next three years under the current agreement, but the max salary in 2027, the final year, would still only be $227,527.
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