OT WNBA getting paid what they are worth

[CTrefugee]

I guess many players should be donating back to the league.

• A total loss of ~$40–50 million across 12 teams, averaging about $3–4 million lost per team,
• And historical trend that only 25–50% of teams were profitable in recent years,

It’s likely that in 2024, the majority of teams lost money, with perhaps only 3–5 teams managing small profits (e.g. Connecticut Sun has been consistently profitable in the past)

The Sun is profitable only because the thousands of tickets they give away to gamblers are counted as paid. (I used to get two freebees to every home game).

 

[HuskyNan]

Next season, the league's record-breaking $2.2 billion media rights deal, which the WNBA says is the largest in the history of women's sports, will kick in. And league executives tout a growing list of lucrative brand partnerships from Coach to Bumble to Ally Bank.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/19/nx-s1-5471422/wnba-all-star-game-caitlyn-clark-indianapolis#:~:text=Next%20season%2C%20the%20league's%20record,to%20Bumble%20to%20Ally%20Bank.

 

[NoSpamHere]

Next season, the league's record-breaking $2.2 billion media rights deal, which the WNBA says is the largest in the history of women's sports, will kick in. And league executives tout a growing list of lucrative brand partnerships from Coach to Bumble to Ally Bank.

https://www.npr.org/2025/07/19/nx-s1-5471422/wnba-all-star-game-caitlyn-clark-indianapolis#:~:text=Next%20season%2C%20the%20league's%20record,to%20Bumble%20to%20Ally%20Bank.

To add to Nan's post, the $2.2B was the allocation from the NBA out of the $76B overall deal. It wasn't based on market value. If it was, the number would be much higher.

 

[iri10]

One thing to keep in mind on the subject of the WNBA's financials: you and I are playing checkers, while the WNBA and team accountants are playing chess. Just like the accountants for every other sports league.

If the WNBA accountants are ever found to be juggling things to make the WNBA look as profitable as possible, they aren't doing their jobs right. Because in that scenario, only the players benefit in the form of increased bargaining power. The league, owners, and NBA don't want too much bargaining power going to the players, because that just increases their operating expenses.

People will often speak of that long-running (but small compared to NBA revenue) subsidy that helped keep the WNBA running, as if it was some kind of charity. It was not. It was done with the hope of future returns, which are now being realized. And because it helped the NBA maintain itself as the only entity worth speaking of in American professional basketball. If someone else started a women's pro league that became a success, they might eventually use that foothold to help open a competing men's product.

edit: Dave Portnoy, not generally known as an advocate for women's sports, has some typically brusque words on this subject:

 

[EricLA]

Yeah I don't buy that WNBA teams are all "losing" money. I'm no CPA, but how do you think millionaire$ in this country pay so little in taxes? Deductions, etc. and I'm sure in the W, they deduct enough to show losses.

The W just added Golden State, Toronto and Portland come in 2026, and Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philly (2030). I hardly doubt these teams would be ponying up million$ just to lose money.

So pay the players what they are worth, or let them strike, and literally have NO league.

Gabby Williams: "It's very clear that the league wants to push away all other leagues," Williams said, via Desert Wave Media. "It would make sense if they were paying us more here, but it still isn't the case, even with the new proposals. And it's very clear now that they wanna push Unrivaled out, push AU out."

Paige is making $78K this season in the W - 44 regular season games. Others who make the playoffs could play an additional 15 games. Think about it - that's $1,773 per game, or $13,000 per month. On paper seems like a nice monthly salary until you compare it to others...

A joke when compared to Unrivaled, where the average salary was $220K, the season lasted only 2 months and they played only 14 games excluding the playoffs. $15,714 per game and $110K per month. Not even close to the WNBA.

Honestly I hope the players play hardball big time. They can strike the W season if needed, essentially canceling the entire WNBA, expand unrivaled if needed, and then the players can all go overseas and play the 6 months that the WNBA lasts.

IMHO the WNBA is in a much weaker position and I hope they players get what they deserve. Per the leaders in the players association, the initial WNBA offer was pretty bad.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Well I know one player who deserves more; well maybe two. The most scandalous part of the current contract is the Rookie Contract where some of the best years of players who come in and dominate are paid chump change. BUT I find ironic that the union is making all this noise when there is just one person responsible for recent success; the person they keep cheap shoting. When Clark went out injured in June national TV ratings fell more than 50%. The increase in stadium attendance in '24 is all the Clark effect. What has been done to Clark paints an ugly picture of the W and it continues. She should go to Europe and leave the W to its own devices and statistics.

 

[Bigboote]

One thing to keep in mind on the subject of the WNBA's financials: you and I are playing checkers, while the WNBA and team accountants are playing chess. Just like the accountants for every other sports league.

If the WNBA accountants are ever found to be juggling things to make the WNBA look as profitable as possible, they aren't doing their jobs right. Because in that scenario, only the players benefit in the form of increased bargaining power. The league, owners, and NBA don't want too much bargaining power going to the players, because that just increases their operating expenses.

People will often speak of that long-running (but small compared to NBA revenue) subsidy that helped keep the WNBA running, as if it was some kind of charity. It was not. It was done with the hope of future returns, which are now being realized. And because it helped the NBA maintain itself as the only entity worth speaking of in American professional basketball. If someone else started a women's pro league that became a success, they might eventually use that foothold to help open a competing men's product.

edit: Dave Portnoy, not generally known as an advocate for women's sports, has some typically brusque words on this subject:

The “no one even knows where it comes from” is a salient point. IIRC, one sticking point in the last CBA negotiations was the teams opening their books. Didn’t happen. The NBA/WNBA really didn’t want the players to see the real financials. Read into that what you will.

 

[meyers7]

Their biggest point is the percentage of "revenue" they get for salaries. (now you can argue over what is revenue/profit/investment/etc.). But Most of the leagues, NBA in particular, have the players salaries have to get 50% of the, in their case, "Basketball Related Income" (specifically defined it seems). WNBA players only get 9.3% of .....revenue/profit? Again, you can argue is their really profit there? But I think they mostly want that percentage bumped up.

 

[baggerbob]

The “no one even knows where it comes from” is a salient point. IIRC, one sticking point in the last CBA negotiations was the teams opening their books. Didn’t happen. The NBA/WNBA really didn’t want the players to see the real financials. Read into that what you will.

With new owners like in Minnesota who want the women to succeed and the Liberty, the NBA might be looking at a new world. I don't expect the owners in Minnesota because of who they are will let the owners not open the books.

 

[maccca3232]

Negotiating in public, in general, but specifically the T-shirts was counter productive but at least they own it unlike the owners who anonymously feed media. Aforementioned articles about the league losing $50M last year.

So why did the league introduce private flights last season for all teams and all games (if I recall correctly the estimated cost was $20M, after recently penalizing the Liberty for using private flights on selected flights, due to unfair advantage), in recognition of the security concerns for Griner & Clark or as a negotiating tool for the upcoming CBA?

Potentially for both reasons but to determine which is more likely, ask yourself would they still have introduced it, if the CBA opt-out was 4 years away?

I think the WNBA players would like to see $1M annual contract but it think it can wait until the next CBA.

If the TV money is going from $60M to $200M, that equals an extra $140M per year. If we accept they lost $50M last year, that is still plus $90M. For context based on a hard cap of $1,507,100 per team for 13 teams, the total salaries for this season are ~ $19.6M. If they triple the cap, that equals an extra ~ $40M. If they increase the roster size from 12 to 14, that would add another ~ $5M, which is half (40+5=45/90 of the positive difference = 50%).

I would be happy for 250% of base in 1st year (Super Max 625k, Rookie Scale avg. 217k) and add 10% of base in each of the next 5 years to reach the 300% (Super Max 750k, Rookie Scale avg. 261k).

The proposed top Rookie scale average ($261,149) would than be more than the current CBA Super Max.

Season	Current CBA Rookie Scale	Triple Rookie Scale
Year 1	78,831	236,493
Year 2	80,408	241,224
Year 3	88,449	265,347
Year 4	100,510	301,530
Total	348,198	1,044,594
Average	87,050	261,149

Edit: People are talking about realized loss/gain (e.g. $50M last year, $XXX since league was created) but not the unrealized gains (Liberty was brought in 2019 for between $10M to $14M and is now valued at between $450M to $500M). My understanding is the unrealized is not taxable but the realized loss can be offset against other income.

 

[Skeets]

Paige is making $78K this season in the W - 44 regular season games. Others who make the playoffs could play an additional 15 games. Think about it - that's $1,773 per game, or $13,000 per month. On paper seems like a nice monthly salary until you compare it to others...

Yeah, but that's at least 2 times what the person working the concession stand makes.

 

[HopJim]

Interesting point that needs to be built into future negotiations is what WNBA players can make overseas. Many compare the men's and women's US salaries, but ignore the fact that women play 44 games a year ver 82 for the men. The WNBA players certainly deserve a higher % or revenues but are faced with having to play more games to get their numbers up significantly. This may negatively impact their other, non-US compensation sources. Many tough decisions to come up within the next year.
There is the ability to more than double women's income with overseas contracts. If these estimates are true, most WNBA veterans make in total $300K-$500K a year range. Different financial models:

Category	Typical WNBA Salary	Typical Overseas Salary
Rookie / Lower Tier	~$60K–$80K	~$100K–$300K (typically European/Turkish)
Veteran / Role Player	~$100K–$130K	~$200K–$400K+ (Turkey, Europe, Australia)
All-Star / Elite	Up to ~$234K + bonuses	~$500K–$1.5M+ (Russia, China, top clubs)

 

[Skeets]

Paige is making $78K this season in the W - 44 regular season games. Others who make the playoffs could play an additional 15 games. Think about it - that's $1,773 per game, or $13,000 per month. On paper seems like a nice monthly salary until you compare it to others...

Upon further deep thought, if you consider the hours Paige and the concession stand worker put in doing their jobs, not just money per event, I bet the concession stand worker has a higher hourly wage. I wonder if Paige's salary even meets the federal minimum wage considering all the hours.

 

[husky429]

Upon further deep thought, if you consider the hours Paige and the concession stand worker put in doing their jobs, not just money per event, I bet the concession stand worker has a higher hourly wage. I wonder if Paige's salary even meets the federal minimum wage considering all the hours.

You think Paige--or any other basketball player--is working an 8-10 hour day like the rest of us? C'mon now. It's a privelege to play a game for a living; let's not get this twisted

 

[Cuango]

To add to Nan's post, the $2.2B was the allocation from the NBA out of the $76B overall deal. It wasn't based on market value. If it was, the number would be much higher.

Based on what?

 

[Sifaka]

1. Accountants can make corporate P&Ls, Income Statements, and Balance Sheets tell whatever story ownership wants told. GAAP provide some guardrails, but fiddling the numbers isn't difficult. For example, a team would have a net profit after tax of $1.5 million. Owners decide to award senior management bonuses of $1.8 million. Suddenly the team is in the red by$300,000 for the fiscal year.

2. The investors in sports teams don't give a flying fig about supposed short term losses, so long as their ownership stakes go up in value.

 

[Cuango]

I suppose anyone can argue that WNBA revenue, profit numbers are essentially unknown but according to all the numbers I’ve seen, this league is and has always been, a money pit! Based on the fact that it has never made a profit, even last year when the greatest money making gift ever landed in their laps (which they, almost universally, tried their best to belittle, injure, and dismiss) I’m having a hard time understanding these delusional demands to “Pay them what they are owed”! Realistically, it is the owners and the NBA that is owed money. I would actually love to see the W thrive and turn into a money machine like the NBA, NFL, etc but as of now, this league is way too dysfunctional and poorly run to even dream of that. Just my opinion, of course!
Please! Do something about the refs! That would be a good start!

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

The Sun is profitable only because the thousands of tickets they give away to gamblers are counted as paid. (I used to get two freebees to every home game).

The Sun franchise has lower overhead because the casino owns the team and already has employees or contractors for security, concessions, etc.
Teams owned by NBA franchises already have some employees on their respective payrolls who pull double duty, working for both the NBA and WNBA teams.
Teams like Atlanta can be problematic because the revenue generated from ticket sales is so much lower due to the size of the arena.

 

[1974yankees]

I guess many players should be donating back to the league.

• A total loss of ~$40–50 million across 12 teams, averaging about $3–4 million lost per team,
• And historical trend that only 25–50% of teams were profitable in recent years,

It’s likely that in 2024, the majority of teams lost money, with perhaps only 3–5 teams managing small profits (e.g. Connecticut Sun has been consistently profitable in the past)

The Sun is profitable only because the thousands of tickets they give away to gamblers are counted as paid. (I used to get two freebees to every home game).

The WNBA literally has the lowest Television ratings of any sport. There are reruns of Seinfeld that pull more viewers.

So there's that.

Personally I have not watched a single WNBA game since Maya Moore was dominating the league....And I only watched her team because of her. But that is just me.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

You think Paige--or any other basketball player--is working an 8-10 hour day like the rest of us? C'mon now. It's a privelege to play a game for a living; let's not get this twisted

While the job is not comparable on an "8-10 hour day" basis, I really think you are understating the amount of work it takes to be a high quality professional athlete. Training and publicity work are added to actual practice and travel time, etc. it is much more of a commitment than it seems you are giving credit for.

It is even more-so at the college level, obviously with a few other factors thrown in. But coaches have long said that playing WBB in college is more than a full time job, between schooling, practice, training and travel.

 

[maccca3232]

Interesting point that needs to be built into future negotiations is what WNBA players can make overseas. Many compare the men's and women's US salaries, but ignore the fact that women play 44 games a year ver 82 for the men. The WNBA players certainly deserve a higher % or revenues but are faced with having to play more games to get their numbers up significantly. This may negatively impact their other, non-US compensation sources. Many tough decisions to come up within the next year.
There is the ability to more than double women's income with overseas contracts. If these estimates are true, most WNBA veterans make in total $300K-$500K a year range. Different financial models:

Category	Typical WNBA Salary	Typical Overseas Salary
Rookie / Lower Tier	~$60K–$80K	~$100K–$300K (typically European/Turkish)
Veteran / Role Player	~$100K–$130K	~$200K–$400K+ (Turkey, Europe, Australia)
All-Star / Elite	Up to ~$234K + bonuses	~$500K–$1.5M+ (Russia, China, top clubs)

I don't know how much overseas players get paid in Australia (the WNBL) but I can tell you what the salary cap and minimum salary was last year.

Obviously the amount offered would be based on both the quality of the player and the team, I would be shocked if WNBA players made more than USD$65,000 in WNBL.

Why the salary shouldn't be ignored, there are many other reasons the WNBL would be considered desirable: Culture, Level of Competition, Season Duration, Playing Time before salary considerations.

There have been many players who have improved WNBA seasons after an offseason spent in the WNBL, most recently Veronica Burton and Laeticia Amihere.

Description	AUD (~USD)
Salary Cap	$ 486,146 ($324,097)
Minimum	$ 20,000 ($13,333)
Hypothetical Team Payroll	$ 485,000 ($323,333)
Hypothetical Player 1​	$ 100,000 ($66,667)
Hypothetical Player 2​	$ 100,000 ($66,667)
Hypothetical Player 3​	$ 75,000 ($50,000)
Hypothetical Player 4​	$ 50,000 ($33,333)
Hypothetical Player 5​	$ 50,000 ($33,333)
Hypothetical Player 6​	$ 25,000 ($16,667)
Hypothetical Player 7​	$ 25,000 ($16,667)
Hypothetical Player 8​	$ 20,000 ($13,333)
Hypothetical Player 9​	$ 20,000 ($13,333)
Hypothetical Player 10​	$ 20,000 ($13,333)

 

[Dogdude]

The difficulty in finding out exactly how profitable the league can be is mirrored in other forms of the entertainment world, like music or film. For example, a band gets 100k as an advance for their record-to-be. Wow! But, that has to cover the expense of making the album, from studio time to post-production, to printing, distribution and marketing. The label picks up none of those costs, they're just loaning the money for the musicians to pay. After those costs are covered, which will magically come to the 100k (no matter the actual hard costs) then the artist will make about a buck an album. Artists who toured smaller placed and signed with a label had to buy their cds from the label (they got a break, paying only about $8 per cd so they could sell them for $15 at a gig). Yet, the labels were doing mysteriously well considering how "expensive" everything was to produce. The only way the players get close to what they deserve is to walk out. There won't be many million dollar salaries even then, but things should at least double, with no individual player cap. A team cap, sure, but management should be able to outbid another team for that franchise player who will pull in fans.

 

[cancontent]

What I don't understand is why are people surprised the players decided to wear the shirts that they did. The players have always been vocal in their stances and not afraid to put it out there. In some cases, it's worked very well even when they were told to focus on sports.

It's nice to see the players are engaged and want to be involved. Unlike other unions where it seems like a small portion of players are involved than others, or are led by people who are more into themselves than the best interest of their players (*cough NFLPA), this is refreshing to me.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

The WNBA literally has the lowest Television ratings of any sport. There are reruns of Seinfeld that pull more viewers.

So there's that.

Personally I have not watched a single WNBA game since Maya Moore was dominating the league....And I only watched her team because of her. But that is just me.

Let's check this ...

• The 2025 All Star Game in Indianapolis drew 2.19 million viewers, down from a record 3.44 million last year (when Clark played). It still was the most watched program of the night across the television landscape.
• All-Star Weekend's other events were a hit. Friday's WNBA skills challenge and 3-point contest drew an average of 1.3 million viewers on ESPN, up a whopping 89% over last year.
• Halfway through the 2025 season, the WNBA is on a victory tour. TV ratings are even higher than last year, up 23% across the board.
• Average viewership in 2024 was 201% higher than in the previous year and 791% higher than in 2017, according to media audience measurement company Nielsen.
• Women viewership on ESPN platforms for the 2024 season was up 165% compared to the previous year. And ESPN’s unique viewership rose 157% in 2024, introducing millions of new fans to the game.

For comparison, 2024-25 NBA games on ABC, ESPN, and TNT averaged 1.53 million viewers, just shy of last season’s 1.56 million.

 

[EricLA]

What I don't understand is why are people surprised the players decided to wear the shirts that they did. The players have always been vocal in their stances and not afraid to put it out there. In some cases, it's worked very well even when they were told to focus on sports.

It's nice to see the players are engaged and want to be involved. Unlike other unions where it seems like a small portion of players are involved than others, or are led by people who are more into themselves than the best interest of their players (*cough NFLPA), this is refreshing to me.

I'm even more surprised that people were annoyed/angered that the players wore what they did. Or that people really seem to believe that the WNBA is LOSING money. Starting this year, thru 2030, the WNBA is adding a whopping 6 teams. Golden State, Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, Philly.

While Golden State paid "only" $50M for the expansion fee, the newer teams are now paying $250M. People are delusional if they really believe all these teams are/will be losing money.

I'm not saying that the W is anywhere near as profitable as men's franchises (basketball, baseball, football, hockey, etc.), nor that the women should be paid anywhere near what the men are paid. This is NOT equality for doing the same job. Professional athletes are paid based on the interest in their sport, etc.

What I am saying is that the league is delusional if it thinks it can bamboozle the players by playing hardball, not sharing actual financials, and giving them just a bit more than what they make now. And it's sad that the league, at least per Gabby Williams, is actively trying to put an end to the Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited leagues.

Bottom line, why would ANY player want to be in a league that lasts 6 months to make $75-210K (only 5 players make over $225K for the season - Gabby, Copper, Ogunbowale, Loyd, and Mitchell) when they could make $300-500K on a team with a much shorter season (even more in Russia and China apparently)?

I'm 100% behind the players and hope they get what they deserve, or decide to strike, and hurt the league for the foreseeable future...