The WNBA has made a lot of progress in recent years but it’s still a long way off from being profitable. The most recent projections have the WNBA losing $40 million this season and the word on the street is that the investors are getting concerned.
“This season the WNBA will lose $40 million, a bit better than the $50 million forecast and reported by several media outlets months ago but still a loss,” wrote Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Some NBA owners want more transparency from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver about when they will get to see some return from the suddenly popular WNBA. New York Knicks owner James Dolan has been pushing Silver behind the scenes, sources said.”
NBA owners have invested hundreds of millions into the WNBA since its founding in 1996 and the league has gone to great lengths to promote the women’s game. Beginning in 2026, the WNBA will get up to $2.2 billion over 11 years to fund operations, pay the players, and promote the product.
But in every year of its existence, the WNBA has lost money and it’s on track to stay that way for several more years to come. With expenses high and the revenue so low, it’s going to be hard for even the best of teams to break even.
The good news is that things appear to be trending up for women’s basketball as a whole. For the first time in years, the WNBA is a popular topic of conversation and they have a class of interesting and popular stars to help draw attention to their league.
The biggest of these stars is the reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who broke the WNBA’s single-season scoring average record with 26.8 points per game. There’s also young rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, whose Steph-like shooting earned her worldwide attention and fame. She had a historic season for the Fever and she’s projected to be a future MVP of the WNBA. Between those stars and women like Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, and Alyssa Thomas, the WNBA is in good hands with a strong cast of athletes both young and old.
The 2023-24 campaign brought new life into the WNBA and we saw the league reach an unprecedented level of popularity both among the fans and NBA media. Going into this next season, the WNBA has a good chance to carry the momentum and reach a historic level of engagement across social media and viewing platforms.
Of course, with a $40 million hole to makeup, it could be a while before the owners start to see a return on their investment. In the meantime, we can expect Adam Silver and NBA executives to do everything they can to promote and support the WNBA.
Thanks to its newfound popularity, it should be easier than ever to capitalize on the audience and build up a growing dynamic of fans. In time, we could see the WNBA start to make some money — both for the owners and the players who are mostly playing for $120K or less.
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