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The 2024 WNBA season saw the league reach new heights in viewership, attendance, and national attention.
The league should reap the financial benefits of its newfound popularity, especially since its revenues have already doubled over the past five years before this season, while a new media rights deal starting in 2026 could be worth four times its current deal.
However, the league’s financial situation remains ambiguous. The Washington Post reported that the league has been losing at least $10 million annually since its inception in 1996, including what is expected to be $50 million this season.
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Public perception of the WNBA consists of doubts about its finances, mainly due to the relatively low contracts of its players Versus athletes in other professional sports.
Despite the losses, WNBA teams are still valuable assets, and that was proven when Sportico released its first WNBA ratings on Tuesday, June 18.
WNBA teams are much less highly regarded than men’s professional teams, but they are still valuable
Despite constantly being criticized for low viewership, revenue, and essentially zero profits, the average team is still worth close to nine figures.
According to Sportico, the average WNBA team is worth $96 million, with the total value of all 12 teams at $1.16 billion.
The Las Vegas Aces, the back-to-back WNBA champions, lead the way with a valuation of $140 million. Directly behind the Aces are the Seattle Storm at $135 million and the New York Liberty at $130 million. The only other team worth more than nine figures is the Phoenix Mercury, which Sportico values at $105 million.
The three least valuable teams are the Atlanta Dream ($55 million), the Dallas Wings ($75 million), and the Washington Mystics ($80 million).
The Indiana Fever, who has been the center of attention in the WNBA since Kaitlyn Clark’s arrival, sits right in the middle of the field in sixth place with $90 million.
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While this is Sportico’s inaugural list of WNBA team ratings, WNBA team ratings have been on the rise, at least according to league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who told CNBC in April that team ratings have risen “at least 10 times” over the past four years. .
However, WNBA teams are still worth much less than teams in other leagues. The average valuation of the 30 NBA teams is $4 billion per Sportico, but that comparison with the WNBA may not be valid since the NBA is three times older than the WNBA.
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The NFL, founded the same year as the NBA, has 29 teams and an average team value of $678 million, which is seven times more than the average WNBA team.
There could be several reasons for this gap, including the amount of investment put in by the owners and TV deals (MLS has a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, while the WNBA’s current deal is only about $60 million per year and is tied to… NBA.)
Sports media expert Joe Pompliano noted on X that Aces owner Mark Davis, who bought the Aces for $2 million in 2021, invested an additional $40 million in other basketball expenses that helped boost the team’s valuation.
That includes hiring coach Becky Hammon for a record $1 million annual salary as she led the team to its last two championships.
I’ve seen many people talking about how Mark Davis got a great deal by buying the Las Vegas Aces for $2 million.
He did, but Davis also invested heavily in the franchise, spending $40 million to build the first-ever training facility used exclusively by a WNBA team.
– Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 29, 2024
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