WNBA set for $40 million loss despite historic 2024 season
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The WNBA is getting hit hard financially. The league is set to lose $40 million this year, per the New York Post. This is somewhat shocking news, as the attendance and TV ratings are on the rise for the women’s basketball league.
The WNBA’s main investors are people with stock in the NBA, including team owners. The women’s basketball league is not turning a profit to those investors.
"The WNBA owes the NBA so much we won't see any windfall for years," an NBA team executive said.
This is certainly disappointing news. The WNBA has found new stars this season in Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, which have helped bring new eyeballs to the league. The league will be looking to expand its season as a way to raise more revenue.
WNBA’s financial situation is dire
There is some good news for the women’s league. The original economic forecast for the league projected about a $50 million loss in revenue for the year, so the WNBA is actually faring better than what was previously thought.
Starting in 2026, the league will also get about $2.2 billion over the next decade in media contracts. So there’s some hope. It’s a delicate situation, however, as WNBA player salaries will likely also increase. Reese recently said she is making very little salary playing basketball. Female players also frequently go overseas to play in the offseason, but that may change following Brittney Griner’s incarceration in Russia.
There’s also a chance that expansion fees could inject some much needed funds into the league. The WNBA is expanding with new franchises, including a Bay area team in California. That isn’t happening currently, though.
"We are not even getting any money from WNBA expansion fees," the NBA team executive added. NBA owners do see money from those expansion fees in the men’s game.
Another issue is transparency. NBA owners assert that the league’s commissioner Adam Silver isn’t sharing enough information about the finances of the WNBA.
"WNBA financials, including detailed reports on revenue and expenses, are shared with both the NBA's and WNBA's Board of Governors," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said to the outlet. Bass provided no further comment. That answer is not sitting well with NBA executives.
The WNBA finals continue on Sunday, as the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty play Game 5. TV ratings for the WNBA finals are much lower than for the NBA finals. According to the Post, a little more than a million people watched Game 2 of the Lynx-Liberty series. In comparison, the NBA finals averaged more than 12 million viewers last year.
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