Getty Image
The WNBA recently agreed to an historic new television rights deal.
The deal, which was brokered by the NBA, is worth $2.2 billion over 11 years. It serves as a monumental jump from the $60 million per year media rights deal the league currently operates under.
The league is more popular and has more star power than ever before. So, naturally, salaries are likely to rise significantly in the coming years, right?
Wrong.
Tania Ganguli of the New York Times reports that the WNBA is still proceeding with extreme caution regarding finances as it is still not profitable.
“As its popularity booms, the W.N.B.A. has made some concessions to players beyond the collective bargaining agreement, but it isn’t quite ready to fully loosen its purse strings,” Ganguli writes. “Some owners would also like to make serious investments in players, but league rules protecting competitive balance often don’t allow for that.”
Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia reportedly offered to pay $100,000 for each WNBA skill competition winner in hopes of convincing the league’s top stars to compete.
The W.N.B.A. awards just $2,575 to each skills competition winner.
But the league shot down the idea due to concerns he could circumvent the salary cap. Instead, the WNBAPA agreed to deal with Aflac. The insurance company paid winners $55,000 to sponsor the event.
Despite the new rights deal, WNBA legend Cheryl Miller said that the league is still undervaluing itself and its players.
“I’m not great with numbers,” Miller told reporters in Phoenix. “That’s a lowball.” “We need tough and fair negotiators and visionaries. And we need a bully, we need a bully behind the table that’s willing to say we’ll break up the pieces and go from there. But there’s a certain number bigger than 2 that we want.”
There’s undoubtedly more money in and around the WNBA than at any point in its 28-year history. But whether the players will actually see that money come directly from the league remains to be seen.