For so long, the WNBA, and women’s basketball period, was underfunded, underappreciated and underestimated. Ebbs and flows of modest success came and went as those in the game continuously scrapped and clawed their way up the ladder.
In the last few years, women’s basketball has seen an explosion in popularity that those who lived before the advent Title IX could only imagine. Ratings are soaring, franchise valuations are rising, crowds are gathering, merchandise is selling and investors are investing.
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All of the progress paid off big time with the landmark CBA agreement.
The league salary cap is rising from $1.5 million to $7 million. The salaries for top players will reach $1.4 million. The No. 1 draft pick can earn $500,000 in the first year. And a major breakthrough is that the players get 20 percent of gross revenue, which had been a focal point during this grueling, prolonged negotiation process.
Much of that cheese will come from the more than $2 billion 11-year media rights deal.
Not only that, charter flights will be mandatory, paid benefits are increasing, and the legends of the game will get a deserved recognition payment.
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The league is also expanding with the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire tipping off this season. In the years ahead, franchises will come to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia.
As if that wasn’t enough, the news that the Connecticut Sun will relocate to Houston next year means the return of the Comets, one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports that has too long been forgotten.
The Comets were one of the original WNBA franchises, winning the first four league titles from 1997 to 2000. Along the team certified some of giants of the game, including the Big 3 of Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson. (Although Connecticut is losing a franchise when they didn’t have to.)
The Comets are coming back?
Share your thoughts on the latest big WNBA news: The relocation of the Connecticut Sun to Houston, and the expected return of the Comets.
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Plus, fans are filling out brackets for the women’s NCAA tournament with the same excitement and anticipation that they do for the men.
Meanwhile, Team USA is entering a new era, with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers leading the way to Germany for the FIBA Women’s World Cup this September and to Los Angeles for the Olympics in 2028.
At the same time, players like Clark, Reese and Bueckers, along with A’ja Wilson, are making themselves commercial and cultural juggernauts with their on-court skills and off-court ventures.
Put all this together, and you’ve got a recipe for success.
After years of struggling to get by, the world of women’s basketball is on the cusp of finally enjoying the fruits of its labor. It took plenty of wear and tear, but it is all about the payoff with the tip off of the 30th WNBA season beginning on time on May 8.
It is no longer “We Got Next.” We have arrived.
