The WNBA absolutely surged in popularity this season after the addition of rookie superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, setting attendance and television viewership records. But it sounds like the league is still set to lose absolutely massive money.
According to a report from Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the WNBA is not expected to lose about $40 million this season, even despite the surge in popularity.
“This season the WNBA will lose $40 million, a bit better than the $50 million forecast and reported by several media outlets months ago but still a loss, sources said,” the New York Post reported.
Needless to say, it’s pretty horrible news that the league is set to lose so much money despite the surge in attention from Clark and Reese, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“Imagine how much would’ve been lost without CC in the league this year boosting sales,” one fan wrote on X.
“HOOOOW??? They had record breaking numbers and they still lost money. This is not good. I wonder how long the NBA is gonna continue to fund them. The books gotta be looked at. This is insane,” another fan said.
“some added context — this is the 28th wnba season. the nba wasn’t profitable until 1994/95, it’s 49th season,” another person added.
“Probably the worst ran business in the history of the world,” another person said.
“Take Caitlin out of the equation and that number is easily doubled. Wild. They’ll get there eventually I believe, and when they do make no mistake about it……CC saved this league from extinction,” another fan wrote.
“How could they lose this much money with Caitlin Clark’s addition? Record turnouts and investment … ?” another fan asked.
The league is expected to see an influx of money in the coming years thanks to a new media rights deal, but this still is not exactly a good sign that they could not come close to turning a profit despite a surge in attention.
