The president of the WNBA players’ union worries the league is being undervalued given the $2.2 billion the NBA will receive over 11 years as part of the NBA’s recently approved media rights deals.
“We’ve spent months wondering how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,” the union’s executive director, Terri Jackson, said in a statement. “With a reported $75 billion deal on the table, the league controls its own destiny. More precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.”
The NBA Board of Governors approved the league’s next media rights agreements with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video during Tuesday’s meeting, bringing the league one step closer to finalizing the 11-year deals worth approximately $76 billion.
“We look forward to hearing how the NBA arrived at a $200 million budget [a year] appreciation – if the initial reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that we have seen unprecedented growth across all dimensions in recent years, that the players continue to demonstrate their dedication to building the brand, and that the fans continue to show up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”
The WNBA’s current media deal, worth about $60 million per year, expires after the 2025 season. The NBA, which owns about 60% of the WNBA, negotiated the new deals.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert had said before the season that she hoped to at least double the league’s annual rights revenue, as the league has grown in recent years. This would more than triple it.
The new revenue could significantly increase player salaries, a problem that has been a problem for years. Since the league was founded in 1997, players have gone abroad to supplement their income. The top base salary this year is $242,000, with players potentially earning more than half a million through salary, marketing deals and bonuses. Caitlin Clark will earn $76,000 in salary as the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
The league currently has deals to air games on CBS and the ION Network, as well as ESPN and Amazon. The CBS and ION deals can be extended after they expire, which would add more money to the total media deal package. The ION deal is worth $13 million per year and is expected to expire after next season.