Women’s sports have exploded over the recent few years, and the WNBA is a large part of that growth. Now it appears that the league is set to finally reap the rewards it has been fighting for since first launching almost three decades ago.
This morning, The Athletic reported that the WNBA is set to secure a new media rights deal worth roughly $2.2 billion over 11 years, which would be a massive increase over the current deal that pays them $50 million per year from partners ESPN, ION, CBS and Amazon.
The new deal also leaves the door open for the league to earn more during that period according to sources referenced by The Athletic.
Earlier this year, the WNBA said it would negotiate its rights deal separately from the NBA rights deal, both ending after the 2025 season.
Some scoffed at that decision, saying the WNBA would have more leverage by working through the NBA. But commissioner Cathy Engelbert stood firm, even after the NBA scored a massive 11-year, $75 billion deal with partners ESPN, NBC and Amazon, a deal that was approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors on Tuesday (it is noted that WBD, the parent company of TNT, is still in the mix though).
The WNBA’s reported new deal is not only a significant increase from its current deal, but it would also surpass the NWSL’s four-year, $240 million deal with CBS, ESPN, Amazon and Scripps Sports (ION) that began this season.
The new deal with also enable the WNBA to potentially add more partners.
The Athletic also reports that the league and its partners have agreed to “revisit the rights deals with good faith talks after three years that could replace them to reflect the league’s growth.”
