Women’s basketball players are driving the marketability of the WNBA. So is it a surprise they want a better deal?

This year’s list of the world’s 50 most marketable athletes features seven women’s basketball stars. And now, WNBA players are calling for a CBA that reflects their role in bringing new – and highly engaged – audiences to the league.

Dropping the list of the world’s 50 most marketable athletes is a little bit like pouring a packet of mentos into a recently opened bottle of Coca-Cola and then watching from behind a tree as it explodes.

That is perhaps an analogy that only those with access to SportsPro’s social media accounts will be able to understand, but you don’t need to be a current or former member of our editorial team to appreciate that our annual ranking upsets certain factions of the sports community, particularly online.

CR7 fanatics have been particularly touchy whenever Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t placed above his nemesis Lionel Messi, proving that we aren’t allowed to “just enjoy them both” on or off the pitch. 50MM has also exposed a corner of the internet where seemingly thousands of Formula One fans are arguing amongst themselves about Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

But this year, the most overwhelming response has been from the ever-growing online cult following of women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – not another article about the Caitlin Clark effect. And you’re right, it’s not… quite.

The 22-year-old did rank fourth in this year’s 50MM, making her the highest new female entrant to the list, but she was joined in the top 50 by six other women’s basketball stars – Paige Bueckers (16th), Breanna Stewart (21st), Kelsey Plum (22nd), A’ja Wilson (25th), Angel Reese (26th) and Sabrina Ionescu (28th). In fact, around two thirds of the basketball players in this year’s 50MM are female.

This list usually throws up its fair share of surprises, but this was not one. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has just concluded a record-breaking campaign which saw regular season viewership on ESPN up 170 per cent compared to 2023, while merchandise sales soared 601 per cent and attendances increased by 48 per cent.

Why are women’s basketball players so marketable?

It would be easy to say that this is all because of generational talents, such as Clark and Reese, entering the league, but the growth speaks to a wider trend that can be traced back to a couple of marketing-related factors.

One is the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) decision in 2022 to rebrand the Division I women’s college basketball tournament as March Madness, the most recent final of which was watched my more people (18.87 million) than the men’s equivalent for the first time.    

The second was the introduction of new NIL regulations which incentivised college athletes to build their personal brands and social media followings on platforms like TikTok to the point where they could provide value for sponsors.

What this has meant is that women’s college basketball players are bringing large fanbases with them to the WNBA – and it is the league that is now starting to reap the benefits.

The bigger picture

Indeed, the WNBA is set to see its annual media rights revenue grow from US$60 million to US$200 million from 2026 and has already witnessed increased interest from brands.

So, virtually every metric in the WNBA is trending upwards – except for player salaries.

That fact is not lost on the players themselves, who on Monday – serendipitously both the day after the New York Liberty won their first WNBA title and the eve of 50MM – announced that they will be opting out of their current collective bargaining agreement with the league after the 2025 season.

What that ultimately means is that if a new deal isn’t reached over the next 12 months, then there’s a risk of a lockout beyond that point.

WNBPA president and Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike said that this “isn’t just about bigger paychecks”, although the players will no doubt want to ensure that their wages, which are currently capped at US$241,984, reflect the impact they feel they have had on the growth of the business.

Does 50MM support the WNBPA’s case?

It’s particularly interesting to note that eight of the 12 women’s basketball players who featured in the top 150 most marketable athletes this year either haven’t played in the WNBA yet or have just completed their rookie year.

It’s equally worth pointing out that six of those eight players ranked in the top 20 of all athletes for the strength of their audience engagement, which indicates that their fans are more likely to follow their journeys wherever they go.

The players could therefore argue that they have not only had a direct hand in growing the audience of the WNBA to where it is today, but also that this is a trend set to be sustained long beyond Clark’s rookie year as more college phenoms emerge.  

The concept of athletes who are good at their sport driving eyeballs to the league they compete in is hardly revolutionary, but it has proved particularly valuable for the WNBA, whose teams arguably do not yet have the brand equity to fill arenas without the allure of the game’s biggest stars.

The league will therefore want to tread carefully, especially at a time when new, player-led, celebrity-backed leagues are emerging and offering those who sign up similar salaries to what they are receiving in the WNBA.

If the players didn’t already feel emboldened ahead of negotiations, then this year’s 50MM should give them reason to believe that the ball is in their court.  

Credit: https://www.sportspromedia.com/insights/analysis/wnba-most-marketable-players-caitlin-clark-reese-cba-pay-50mm-2024/