The 2024 WNBA season has seen the league reach new heights in viewership, attendance, and national attention.
The league should reap the financial benefits of its newfound popularity, especially as its revenue has already doubled over the last five years before this season, while its new media rights deal starting in 2026 could be worth four times more than its current deal.
However, the league's financial situation is still murky. The Washington Post reported that the league has lost at least $10 million yearly since its inception in 1996, including what is expected to be $50 million this season.
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The public perception of the WNBA consists of skepticism about its finances, mainly due to the relatively low contract 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 valuations on Tuesday, June 18.
WNBA teams are valued significantly less than men's pro teams, but they are still valuable
Despite being constantly criticized for low viewership and revenue and essentially zero profits, the average team is still worth nearly nine figures.
According to Sportico, the average WNBA team is valued at $96 million with the total valuation of all 12 teams worth $1.16 billion.
The Las Vegas Aces, the back-to-back WNBA Champions, lead the way with a valuation of $140 million. Right behind the Aces are the Seattle Storm at $135 million and the New York Liberty at $130 million. The only other team worth over nine figures are the Phoenix Mercury which Sportico valued 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 have been the center of attention in the WNBA since the arrival of Caitlin Clark, are squarely in the middle of the field at sixth with a valuation of $90 million.
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While this is the inaugural list of WNBA team valuations from Sportico, WNBA team valuations have been on the up and up, at least according to the league's Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who told CNBC in April that team valuations are up "at least 10 times" over the last four years.
However, WNBA teams are still worth significantly less than teams in other leagues. The average valuations of the 30 NBA teams is $4 billion per Sportico, but that comparison with the WNBA may not be valid considering the NBA is threes times older than the WNBA.
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Major League Soccer, which was founded the same year as the WNBA, has 29 teams and the average team is worth $678 million, which is over seven times more than the average WNBA team.
There could be several reasons for the gap, including the amount of investment placed by owners and television deals (MLS has a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, while WNBA's current deal is only about $60 million per year and is tied with the NBA.)
Sports media expert Joe Pompliano pointed out 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 has helped boost the team's valuation.
This includes signing head coach Becky Hammon to a record $1 million annual salary as she has steered the team to its last two championships.
I've seen many people talk about how Mark Davis got a great deal by buying the Las Vegas Aces for $2 million.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 29, 2024
And he did — but Davis also invested heavily in the franchise, spending $40 million to build the first-ever practice facility exclusively used by a WNBA team.
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