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The WNBA will earn an estimated $2.2 billion over the next 11 years as part of the new NBA deal with NBC, Amazon and Disney for media rights beginning in 2026.
Despite that windfall (which some players don’t even like), around six times what the WNBA gets under its current deal annually, season ticket prices are set to the go up, and in some cases, go up by a lot.
According to Front Office Sports, Chicago Sky, Phoenix Mercury, and Connecticut Sun season ticket holders have already received notifications informing them of drastic hikes in season ticket prices for next year.
One Chicago Sky season ticket holder told Front Office Sports her two WNBA seats are being raised from $4,704 to $8,624.
Another Sky fan told the Chicago Sun-Times their season tickets went from $8,960 this season to $19,712 next year.
A third Sky fan reported her ticket price is being raised from $269 to $986.
None of those fans were told why the Chicago Sky’s season ticket prices were being raised so drastically.
What they, and Phoenix Mercury season ticket holders, were told is that if they don’t opt out now, they will be automatically renewed for next year at the new price, with the first payment coming due in August.
“I have to kind of scramble and see whether I can literally make the deposit, even if I decide that I’m going to [keep my tickets],” one Sky fan told Front Office Sports. “I just need to literally figure out if I have the money, because I wasn’t saving for it, either, because I didn’t know this was coming up.”
Sky CEO Adam Fox told the Sun-Times the revenue from the price increase would go toward the overall operation of the team on and off the court. He declined to share specifics, including an update on the Sky’s pending practice facility. In April, Sky operating chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson told the Sun-Times the team hoped to have an announcement before the season began.
The Chicago Sky do have one of the worst practice facility’s in professional sports, so the money could be going towards an upgrade there. Which would be fine with some fans, if they were just told about it.
“Are we being asked to pay double just to keep the same old, same old, or are we being asked to pay double to actually help the team grow?” the Sky fan asked. “Because that would be more appealing, but since we have no signs that that’s what’s happening, that’s a big part of why we all feel so taken aback by the prices.”