Who really cares. If someone wants to give money away and I'm not paying for it, I could care less. In regard to the league, the product is underwhelming. College women basketball is underwhelming. Can't dunk. Slow paced. Bunch of chest lofted shots. Plus, the manly vibe on the pro level is a very real turn off for me. Maybe a draw for others. They play like unathletic men. Women tennis is exciting. Women's golf is exciting. No drop off in entertainment. They figured womans baskeball out in Europe. Copy what they have done.
11
There are two separate issues (1) pay equality and (2) pay for performance. Stop confusing the both, people.
It irks me that Engelbert said "big bet on women." Are you really the commissioner of the WNBA?
4
The WNBA doesn’t even make a profit. It is subsidized by the NBA. Woman’s soccer, tennis, even UFC is entertaining to watch. Women’s basketball is not. On that note the men’s NBA isn’t even entertaining anymore unless it’s the playoffs.
9
Congratulation for bringing the WNBA close to the 21St Century. I have been watching since 1998-when the Mystics (WNBA 2019 Champs!!!!) first came to DC. Over the years, players have complained about the salary disparity and how it affected their personal lives. They also need more TV contracts.......
4
Only sexist fools who really do not understand the game of basketball write that the WNBA is not worth watching. Women play a different game, so stop comparing. Women do not play for ESPN highlights; they play as a team in a team sport. Just watch them. They run, they strategize, they score! They are more skilled than the average or even above average male, and dare I say it, could beat most college teams! Open your minds, drop your bias.
As to this contract. It is long overdue. These women need to make an income sufficient so they do not have to play year round, abusing their bodies, separating them from their family and loved ones for months on end. It is time to recognize for their skill, hard work, and dedication. Congrats to the women of the WNBA!
14
"could beat most college teams"? nope. not even close. the size and strength advantage would be too much to overcome.
10
@Rachel Beat college teams? Sorry, high school teams would crush any women’s team.
10
I think this is great, as soon we'll have young women going to college just to play basketball, then skip out after a year for big bucks in the pros. Playing for the love of the game? Pshaw, why not get some dough with your own sneaker brand? And, to those commenters correctly pointing out that the league loses money: well, if Bernie or Liz win the White House, maybe Uncle Sam can Subsidize the teams? Isn't that kind of what Keynes was pushing?
3
My personal interest is in seeing if the games are worth watching. Women’s tennis is worth watching. Women’s soccer is worth watching. Women’s basketball has not been worth watching for me.
The WNBA needs to work on the game itself, too.
10
It never ceases to amaze me how many people just love to bash the WNBA. Why? Are these naysayers really such haters that they can't see what owners and fans alike see? Team-oriented basketball that is affordable, massively fan and family friendly, and quite obviously of value to owners and marketers alike. This league IS NOT a charity. Players were asking for more and they got it. Is this money out of your pocket? No it is not, and I can promise you there is money there or this would never have come about. If you can't be happy for a professional athlete gaining hard-earned income, then you have more problems than this league's audacity to exist.
12
@Susan A strong argument can be made the NBA puts up the money as protection against protests, not an investment to make money. NBA owners don’t want to be treated like US Soccer.
6
Its something, but I doubt its enough.
Actually, many professionals put in more than 8 hours a day - think doctors in residence or lawyers - except they aren't entertainers playing children's games. Some people think every professional sport deserves to succeed with their athletes making movie star wages. The WNBA has begun around for years but the public, including women, have shown little interest. The woman's game is slow and boring. Is rather see an effort to support women in science and engineering where they might make actual contributions to society, not just throw a ball through an iron ring (that most of them can't jump high enough to touch).
10
Players on the WNBA don’t all receive the same compensation? That is not fairness. The person at the end of the bench puts in the same time and effort. Surely this wage distribution will be struck down as unlawful and discriminatory.
6
The WNBA while losing money consistently deserves the new contract and the terms that come with it. Playing basketball is their job and they put in more hours playing basketball than many people put for their everyday nine to four. Many current WNBA players have to work second jobs or play for other teams overseas despite already putting in numerous hours for the American affiliated team. This is what makes this contract so worth it, basketball is a sport that should be able to be played by everyone and if they desire to play said sport as their job they should be compensated for the hundreds of hours that they put in. Not only should they be compensated but it sends a message to women around the world that they can do all the same things men can. I think it is a great move, and while it may not seem like a smart move in terms of revenue the dividends it will pay out in terms of inspiring the youth to chase their goals is worth all the money lost. I am excited to see what the future holds for this league because all sports leagues start from very humble beginnings and I believe the WNBA will be no different.
6
@Benjamin Tuck
I agree. Anyone, and I mean anyone, should be highly compensated in any sport they put in a lot of practice. Whether anyone pays money to watch them is immaterial.
7
A very hazily written article, like things are being concealed. Revenue sharing is referenced several times, but no mention of profit sharing. Popularity and growth of the game are stated as opinions by industry members, but conspicuous lack of data backing up those opinions. I'd like to see the women's game become more popular, but articles like this screams out that the league is struggling. More effort toward improving the product and filling seats will take care of the player salaries in the long run better than forced compliance to a target %. The maternity leave benefit should have always have been in place. I'm shocked and saddened it wasn't.
8
The WNBA still loses money. This is charity
25
Stinks for the NBA players who are subsidizing this waste of a league.
17
@Bob the owners are subsidizing it. The players' contract guarantees a percentage of revenue. And I am never going to feel sorry for the owners.
9
Really. In a major way, the WNBA is a major marketing tools fro the NBA to keep and grow it’s fan base.
3
Not every team is owned by an NBA team. So, maybe some facts would be helpful before you write off an entire league that has existed with a very solid fan base for more than 20 years.
4
About time!!
3
WNBA is a loser...... this is propped up failure.
15
Good.
1
YEESSSSS!!!!!!
3
I am happy to hear top salaries will be tripled, but $500K still seems low for the top women.
9
The WNBA is intended to be a profit-making business. Any readers who have attended a WNBA game and seen the large number of empty seats that are the norm will have to wonder: will this “big bet on women” pay off or will it be an even more unsustainable business model that will spell the league’s demise?
12
@Ken M. I have been to many WNBA games: in Seattle, Connecticut and NY. NY has had empty seats-the owners of the LIberty have been terrible. Seattle and Connecticut are thriving. The league needs much better public relations, for one thing. It is the perfect summer entertainment for a family outing, especially on a hot summer night. It is great for young girls and for young boys who can see women working together. But, the League needs to get its stars out in the public more: Bird, Taurasi, Parker, etc., are household names among many, but they and others need to out there more. Then then League will grow.
4
I wish the article had identified the source of these additional “marketing” dollars. Since all WNBA teams operate with an annual deficit the money comes from men’s professional basketball or really friendly bankers.
8
I think the headline should more accurately say the NBA agrees with the players of the WNBA since the owners of NBA teams overwhelming own WNBA teams.
We would have no WNBA without the financial assistance of the NBA owners.
3
It all seems like simple fairness and justice to me.
3
FANTASTIC! How great is this!!!?!!!
Now we just need sports journalists and papers to give the WNBA the attention it deserves.
10
I think it’s lame because it still creates a lot of inequality. You have some players taking the lions share while others presumably get almost nothing.
If the “top” players are getting 500,000, then what is the “lowest” player getting?! What sort of equality with men is that?!! To me it seems strange when people claim to want equality, but build into it inequality. How does that work?
Sounds like only a few players will actually get the fruits of the equality.
1
Hopefully the 'big bet' includes a plan to extract the league from the massive subsidies it receives from the 'evil' men's league - the NBA.
11
This is a call to female fans. Stop bellyaching and support us!
3
@John who wrote: "A league that averages 6,800 fans per game isn't thriving, it's barely making ends meet."
I just want to throw in a bit of history...
50 years ago, in 1969-70 season, the NBA had 14 teams and was in its 21st season as the NBA.
1969-1970 Average NBA Attendances
Atlanta Hawks: 5210
Boston Celtics: 7504
Chicago Bulls: 10050
Detroit Pistons: 5301
San Francisco Warriors: 5268
San Diego Rockets: 6128
Los Angeles Lakers: 13086
Milwaukee Bucks: 9490
New York Knicks: 18566
Seattle Supersonics: 7734
Philadelphia 76ers: 8210
Phoenix Suns: 7617
Cincinnati Royals: 4869
Baltimore Bullets: 6069
NBA Average: 7563
SOURCE: http://www.apbr.org/attendance.html
6 of those 14 teams averaged less than 6800 fans/game and the NBA itself was only 700+ fans more/game than the current WNBA (which is not helped by tiny arenas like in Westchester for the Liberty...)
What history teaches us is that the WNBA can be every bit as successful as the NBA given the time, respect, and effort that the NBA was given.
24
@VJR
I am pretty sure that very few folks would suggest that is what 'history' teaches us.
What it might be illustrative of is that basketball in general underwent a renaissance in popularity over the past 40 years all around the world and especially in the US.
The women's version of the game have inherited this tremendous market that the men developed and still can't make a profit on an individual team basis.
Listen - if the NBA wants to subsidize the woman's game for the next 100 years then that is fine - but let's not confuse reality with some bizarro version of the WNBA being a money maker or even of marginal interest to the average male or female BBall fan.
16
@VJR and many of the players had to have second jobs to make ends meet. and TV revenue was almost non-existent compared with today. Per your argument, the WNBA players should make the equivalent of players in the 1969 NBA. Hint: they would make a lot less.
12
@SteveRR
The primary difference has been sexism and respect which is part of a Catch-22. De facto marketing comes from media coverage and media coverage only comes from respect... but respect really only an come from media coverage to get the word out. NOW that the ESPN / ABC are showing more WNBA games, the league should grow over time. It's all just a matter of time.
4
Hint yo soccer ladies. Of course you make less than the male team, despite your ofield success, since your pool of revenue is a fraction of that of the men's game. Under these conditions, parity in absolute dollars is as ridiculous as it would be in basketball. If you are getting an equal share of the revenue, applied to the women's game, then you already have parity. Again. Revenue in women's soccer is a fraction of that of the men's game; you are paid accordingly.
13
This whole compoarison with the NBA is absurd.
1. The NBA makes billions of dollars in profits every year.
2. The WNBA LOSES millions of dollars every year, on average 10 million per year, per the NBA commissioner
3. Increasing revenue sharing only makes sense if the WNBA runs a profit, which it does not.
4. The ONLY reason the WNBA exists is because the NBA chooses to run it as a charity/non-profit initiative, and thus doesn't care if they keep losing money. It would have been shut down long ago otherwise.
Link:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2018/12/28/wnba-looks-for-new-president-profitability-in-2019/38809289/
29
@Diana
I'm thinking that NBA players that make ungodly amounts of money would gladly subsidize a league just to ensure that their daughters have the same opportunities as their sons. Throw in the fact that women's hoops is still basketball and enriches the whole game makes it a no brainer to help the WNBA to succeed. Kudo's to Ogumike for her efforts to make the league more woman/family friendly. Half the planet is women, this league will make it despite the growing pains. Go Girls!
6
@Frost
That's all fine and good if the NBA and its players choose to support the WNBA. But dont tell me this nonsense about how the women are being cheated by the men. Without the men their legue wouldnt exist at all!
The WNBA is very, very lucky to have the NBA support. The NBA in the 1950s/60s certainly didnt have a benevolent big brother benefactor shoveling money at them!
9
Brilliant move by the league, whoever that is. The article never even gives the name of any owner. Isn’t that who will be writing the checks? Apparently they were unavailable for comment. The Commissioner is not an owner.
I predict much higher attendance and tv ratings with the additional pay and paid maternity leave. It’s a solid business plan.
2
Congratulations to the WNBA players! They deserve all that they received here. The past few years of national, societal reckoning about how our culture values women has sent shock waves through the system. I am happy to see women's sports is also part of this wave of change!
18
A league that averages 6,800 fans per game isn't thriving, it's barely making ends meet. While paying the players more of the revenue makes perfect sense, the players may want to put some of that money into marketing the league because without fans it will collapse on itself in a decade.
12
@John - In 2002 the average NY Liberty attendance at Madison Square Garden was over 14,000 per game. This was before Dolan exiled them to Westchester. Now that Joe Tsai has moved the team to Brooklyn, they are going to top at least 10,000 per game this summer and top that the next season.
1
@dagwood
First, I think that's awesome. Second, unfortunately one team's attendance success can't make up for small attendance elsewhere.
1
@John Some history...
==============
50 years ago, in 1969-70 season, the NBA had 14 teams and was in its 21st season as the NBA.
From:
http://www.apbr.org/attendance.html
1969-1970 Average NBA Attendances
Atlanta Hawks: 5210
Boston Celtics: 7504
Chicago Bulls: 10050
Detroit Pistons: 5301
San Francisco Warriors: 5268
San Diego Rockets: 6128
Los Angeles Lakers: 13086
Milwaukee Bucks: 9490
New York Knicks: 18566
Seattle Supersonics: 7734
Philadelphia 76ers: 8210
Phoenix Suns: 7617
Cincinnati Royals: 4869
Baltimore Bullets: 6069
NBA Average: 7563
==============
So, in its 21st season as the NBA (24th if you throw in 3 earlier season as the BAA before the merger with the NBL), the NBA's average attendance is only about 1000+ higher than the WNBA's 2019 average attendance of 6535, the 23rd season of its existence.
The situations are comparable.
So, if the WNBA is "barely making ends meet" (*), then so was the NBA yet the NBA is now the most successful indoor league on Earth.
(*) You may want to look into other sports with comparable average attendances or histories. Minor league sports. The National Lacrosse League (top tier league for indoor lacrosse) is in its 34th season and, over time, is now averaging about 10k.
All that is needed is time, respect, and investment in both players and marketing and outreach.
3
This is a great first step. Next step is to make WNBA games as theatrical as NBA games. Dynamic announcers and loud music are a huge part of the experience and draw crowds. The NBA should also consider adjusting the basket’s height in relation to the average height of female players. Everyone loves to see a superstar player dunk, but this is less likely among players who are 6 inches shorter than their male counterparts.
3
The "one-on-one" play, the theatricality, and (especially) the loud music are precisely what drove me away from the NBA
15
@Qnbe Teams already do this. The vibe changes a bit between arenas — Minnesota is boring compared to Phoenix or Los Angeles — but most teams have in-game hosts, announcers, DJs and dance teams. Larger market and better-financed teams occasionally hire celebrity or specialty entertainment at halftime. MGM, for example, sometimes uses the Blue Man Group at Las Vegas Aces games.
Lowering the rim is a terrible idea, however. Basketball rims are 10' tall starting at the high school level. Asking players to hit a different target is a recipe for bad basketball.
3
@Qnbe
The loud music keeps me at home and I love basketball. Somebody trying to promote women’s sports must have written that the lack of loud music while the ball is in play is what holds back women’s attendance. My brother attended the US Women’s National Team soccer game at Soldier Field and told me the stadium atmosphere was terrible because there was no music during play like the NBA. He thought this was an obvious cause of poor attendance.
2019 attendance was down 3.5% overall, averaging <6800 fans per game. TV ratings were down 24% for the playoffs, and average viewership is about 2% of the NBA average. Revenue is less than 1% of the NBA's. The WNBA continues to lose money. So why do salaries have to jump up so much? Yes, investing in women's sports makes sense from many perspectives, including trying to expand the NBA's fan base, but at what point do the continued losses stop making sense, if broader interest just isn't there?
24
@Tom Three teams (Liberty, Mystics, Sky) switched to cheaper arenas with lower capacity. Overall viewership for the season was up. But how their viewership compares to the NBA doesn't matter if the league is profitable or team owners are willing to continue to invest in it.
Salaries have to jump because they'll lose players to overseas commitments and the injuries they might incur there. Losing Breanna Stewart for a season did not help the league. Keep in mind that the increase is contingent on the league increasing its revenue. Players would get them half of the revenue they helped generate — in line with the NBA.
I find it curious that men only argue against investment when it comes to women's leagues and teams. The WNBA attracts larger crowds than most G-League teams, but the NBA has no problem investing there. Major League Soccer draws similar TV ratings. But the only league that anyone argues should fold is the one women's league backed by a multi-billion dollar entity (the NBA) with six teams owned by billion-dollar entities.
14
@tiffany I think there's a difference between the G League and the WNBA. And I never said the WNBA should fold, I just questioned the financial sense of raising the level of a losing investment.
The G League feeds the NBA, which makes a ton of money.
6
@tiffany From a business stand point this is no different that 99% of tech companies. NO future for profits. No IPO. NO prospect for being purchased. No real demand for the product or service. So why pay engineers $150K salaries? Because, they can raise money for their venture. But the key to that is the VC investors make a fee off their fund. If the business succeeds that good too but 99% either lose money or barely break even. The WNBA can't raise money so the NBA subsidizes it and just kicked the can down the road. Look, its not my money. I don't consume the product. So, what do care. But it is interesting.
2
This makes me very very happy. Not just for the players but for women overall especially for the younger generations. Soccer should follow suit sooner or later. I hope women's hockey and lacrosse eventually too.
So, this even reminds me of 100 years ago when the 19th Amendment granted women suffrage nationally.
It's only the beginning of good things to come for women.... and males (especially boys) to grow up to respect women as athletes and as persons overall.
It'll be good to know that girls can grow up dreaming of making a living as an athlete just like I did as a boy in the 1960s/70s.
23
This is the greatest news of the new decade! Players burning the candle at both ends has been a major issue contributing to injuries, burnout, and inconsistent starting rosters. Hats off to Commissioner Engelbert and the players who negotiated this monumental agreement.
If you haven't attended a game, take a look around next summer and join us for an air-conditioned event! The action is hot and the game is cool.
27
Great work, WNBA!
18
Great news. Happy for the players, league and fans. Right now women's basketball is a family sports. Our entire family watches it, follows it, and can afford to attend games. Someday, please start a WNBA team to Portland Oregon.
16
@concord63 it's great your family enjoys watching, but you "can afford to attend" because the league is heavily subsidized, by the money brought in by the NBA. Attendance is down (fewer than 7,000 attend on average across the league; fewer than 2200 attend NY Liberty games on average). Why would they expand to a new, small market? To lose more money and make a handful of people happy?
14
@Tom
Don't be so negative. The NBA did not start out where it is today. The WNBA has a great product. Handled and nurtured properly I'm sure it will become as great and entertaining and financially successful as the NBA is today.
1
@Ricardo I never said anything about the quality of the product, it's a matter of fan interest (or lack thereof). After 23 years, the NBA was making money and expanding, and actually faced the threat of another league as the sport grew in popularity. The WNBA is facing declining attendance amid 23 years of losses.
4
Now, if we can only get the A.B.A. to make a similar big bet...
2
This is amazing news. I’m happy for the players. The WNBA is still the most exciting sports league around.
16
You betcha. The attendance and tv ratings prove your point. It’s the most exciting sports league to watch in the world. I’m just worried about what happens when the NBA sells their ownership rights to WNBA teams. Will the new owners be able to absorb the financial losses?
1
The Seattle Storm is a perfect example of how private ownership can not only save a franchise, but grow it into a powerhouse. And you can bet they're not doing it just for the fun, but for dollars too.