". . .compare the WNBA today to what the NBA was in the 1960s. In other words, compare the WNBA after 20 years to the NBA after 20 years."
A bogus comparison. Compare US population in 1960 to today's population. The guy that wrote the article conveniently chooses to ignore it along with other metrics (TV, sponsors, demographics etc.) that he didn't use because they would show prove that economics guys shouldn't write
"In fact, Adam Silver — the NBA’s commissioner — claimed as recently as last year that some NBA teams today are still losing money."
Another bogus argument. The average NBA team salary may be $80 - $90 million. While they may be "losing money" I don't see any of their players playing pickup for pocket change. The average WNBA
team salary is probably less than what Geno Auriemma makes coaching UConn. Players are forced to go overseas to make a decent (from a pro athlete standpoint) living.
There is only one measure of success when it comes to professional sports - money. The WNBA pays it's players pauper wages and that is probably not going to change.