WNBA Anticipated to Lose $50 Million Regardless of File Attendance and Scores

(Photo : Andy Lyons/Getty Images) INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – Michaela Onyenwere (#12) and Angel Reese (#5) of the Chicago Sky in opposition to the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 01, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The WNBA has skilled huge recognition progress over the previous yr, setting information in attendance and scores as ladies’s basketball continues its upward trajectory.

However, this doesn’t translate to monetary success for the league.

The WNBA remains to be projected to lose round $50 million within the 2024 season. It has by no means made a revenue in its practically three many years of existence since 1996.

A star-studded rookie class that includes NCAA’s all-time main scorer Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cardoso has considerably contributed to the league’s rise in recognition, which has additionally been mirrored in elevated merchandise gross sales.

Read extra: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Admits Bleak Future for All-Star Game After Uncompetitive Nature in Recent Years

In response to this progress, the league has dedicated to constitution flights for all its gamers for the subsequent two seasons, which provides roughly $25 million per yr to their monetary prices.

The NBA subsidizes the WNBA

The WNBA continues to function regardless of practically three many years of losses, primarily supported by subsidies from the NBA.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver disclosed in 2018 that the league has incurred estimated losses of round $10 million per yr since its inception, which signifies that the NBA has invested a nine-figure sum with no return.

“The truth is, this league would be hard-pressed to exist without the NBA,” an nameless WNBA government admitted throughout an interview with The Washington Post.