“Expected to Lose $50 Million This Season”: Despite Surge From Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Led Rookie Class, Analyst Drops Harsh Reality Check for WNBA

The advent of the 2024 rookie class in the WNBA paved the way for countless discussions. One of them is how names like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have brought some significant boost to its overall popularity. This became the case when the league reached an all-time high in viewership, while various attendance records, set in the last 26 years, were broken. However, the women’s division of this beloved sport is still in a spot of bother financially. This gloomy development got through the analyst lens of two of the popular faces of Fox Sports Radio recently.

It appears that the 756% surge in merchandise sales and a 335% rise in League Pass subscriptions are not enough to stabilize the financial well-being of the WNBA. To provide a clearer picture in this regard, Chris Broussard had a very detailed conversation with Rob Parker on the latest episode of The Odd Couple. Broussard went first and accounted for the losses incurred by the W since its inception in 1997. Quoting Adam Silver’s comments from 2018, he said, “The WNBA had lost about $10 million every year since it began.”

Following this, he shifted his attention to an eye-opening headline shared by the Washington Post last month. “The WNBA is expected to lose $50 million this season. So, they’re not making money. They are not breaking even. They are losing money.” This may come as a shock to many.

Probably because Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently announced a $50 million charter investment for 2 years. On top of that, it also managed to generate $75 million in 2022. The instrumental sources for this revenue were Nike, NBA owners, the NBA itself, etc.

The 55-year-old then concluded his thoughts by outrightly stating just how much the WNBA is dependent on the NBA. Citing out some interesting narratives, he expressed, “The only way it (WNBA) still exists for all the great athletes and players in that league, is because the NBA has carried them. Literally.”

The epicenter of this whole discussion is the NBA’s recent 11-year media rights deal. According to trusted sources, this contract is worth $76 billion with ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. Out of which, the WNBA is expected to earn an estimated $2.2 billion. Anyhow, these numbers don’t seem to impress WNBPA Executive Director Terri Jackson, whose recent comments brought such reactions out of Chris Broussard.

Is the Caitlin Clark effect “undervalued”?

Terri Jackson put forth some very strong statements recently. On the breaking out of the NBA’s mammoth deal, she expressed, “We have wondered for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal. With a reportedly $75 billion deal on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny. More precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.”

She further pointed out that the WNBA has also played a vital hand in improving the overall metrics. Yet, it was her eventual thoughts that hold a certain disputable nature among experts. “The players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building the brand, and that the fans keep showing up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”

Whether or not this narrative is true is worthy of debate. But, the fact that rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have certainly brought more eyeballs to the sport is irrefutable. Only time will tell what the financial future holds for the W.