The executive director of the WNBA players’ union is concerned the league is being undervalued with the $2.2bn over 11 years it will receive as part of the NBA’s recently approved media rights deals.
“We have wondered for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,” the executive director of the union, Terri Jackson, said in a statement. “With a reportedly $75bn deal on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny. More precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.”
The NBA’s board of governors approved that league’s next media rights deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video at its meeting on Tuesday, moving the league one step closer to finalizing the 11-year agreements that will be worth about $76bn.
“We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200m [a year] valuation – if initial reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that in the last few years, we have seen unprecedented growth across all metrics, 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.”
The WNBA’s current media deal, which is valued at about $60m per year, is set to expire after the 2025 season. The NBA, which owns about 60% of the WNBA has negotiated the new deals.
The WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, had said before the season that she hoped to at least double the league’s annual rights revenue since the league has grown the last few years. This would more than triple it.
The new revenue could greatly increase player salaries, which have been an issue for many years. Since the league was founded in 1997 players have gone overseas to supplement their incomes. The top base salary this year is $242,000, with players potentially earning over half a million through salary, marketing agreements and bonuses. Caitlin Clark will make $76,000 in salary this year as the No 1 pick in this year’s draft.
The league currently has deals to broadcast games on CBS and the ION network as well on ESPN and Amazon. The CBS and ION deals could be renewed after they expire, which would add more money to the overall media deal package. The ION deal is worth $13m a year and is scheduled to end after next season.
