The WNBA Final Game 4 between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx is down the corner. The Liberty edged out Lynx in the last two games securing a 2-1 lead after getting defeated in the WNBA Final Game 1. Amidst the finals and its hype, Sources close to the situation report that the league’s owners won't see a return on their investments in the near future. The NBA currently holds nearly 60 percent ownership of the WNBA.
Ownership scenario
When factoring in the NBA owners' personal stakes in both their teams and the WNBA, their total ownership rises to approximately 75 percent, according to The Post. Since the WNBA's inception in 1996, NBA team owners have invested hundreds of millions into the league. This indicates that the WNBA would need to generate at least a $100 million annual increase in revenue from national media contracts, which currently stand at about $60 million. Additionally, the WNBA plans to expand its regular-season and playoff schedules to boost revenue.
However, players are expected to opt out of the existing collective bargaining agreement by the November 1 deadline. If they do, rising salaries could diminish the projected $60 million profit for 2026, transforming a potential $40 million loss into a $60 million gain based on that $100 million increase in TV revenue.
One NBA team executive told The Post “We are not even getting any money from WNBA expansion fees.”
NBA owners not happy with WNBA expansion
In contrast, NBA owners do receive revenue from NBA expansion fees. For instance, when Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob agreed to pay a $50 million expansion fee over ten years for a new WNBA team, and when Toronto Raptors minority owner Larry Tanenbaum paid $115 million for a Toronto team and a new practice center, none of those funds benefited the NBA owners.
Some NBA owners are calling for greater transparency from NBA commissioner Adam Silver regarding when they might see a return from the increasingly popular WNBA. New York Knicks owner James Dolan has been actively pressing Silver for answers, with sources indicating that other owners view Dolan as a champion for their concerns.
“There’s a bunch of owners who see Dolan as their hero for pressing Silver on these questions, but Silver is not giving us any answers,” said the team executive.
Dolan declined to comment on the matter. An NBA spokesperson stated, “WNBA financials, including detailed reports on revenue and expenses, are shared with both the NBA’s and WNBA’s Board of Governors,” but did not elaborate further.
In response, the team executive expressed skepticism, stating, “That is somewhat BS, and they are consolidating it with NBA financials. By consolidating numbers, you don’t have to break out any of them.”
