The WNBA is reportedly still on track to lose some $50 million despite the huge influx of new fans brought to the league thanks to new star Caitlin Clark.
The league has never turned a profit since its inception in 1997. It simply could not exist without the financial support of the NBA, according to anonymous sources quoted by the Washington Post.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had already said in 2018 that the WNBA loses ten million a year, the Associated Press reported. That means the WNBA has lost upwards of $260 million since 1997.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media during a press conference after the Board of Governors Meeting on April 10, 2024, at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. (David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
But the 2024 season is set to be an even bigger loser, the sources told the paper.
Still, the WNBA is set to receive a windfall for broadcast rights. The NBA, which owns 60 percent of the WNBA, is currently negotiating the next big broadcast deal with both leagues that could bring in as much as $7 billion a year. The WNBA could reap as much as $200 million yearly from those fees.
According to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, her league would not even exist were it not for the constant infusion of cash from the NBA. “The truth is, this league would be hard-pressed to exist without the NBA,” Engelbert said.
All this is even true despite the amazing number of new fans brought to the league by Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Indiana Fever, reacts to a call in the fourth quarter against the Washington Mystics at Capital One Arena on June 07, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
The paper said league attendance in the stands is about 7,645 fans on average. But that number skyrockets 105 percent to 15,142 when Clark is on the court.
That is just the fans at games. When Clark is on TV screens, viewership rises, as well. Into June, Clark’s games earned an average of 1.099 million viewers. Games without her averaged but 414,000 viewers.
Meanwhile, Clark’s opponents denigrate her and attempt to physically assault her at every turn when she and the Indiana Fever play.
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