Latest news with #GoldenStateValkyries
NBC News
a day ago
- Business
- NBC News
Why WNBA players are telling the league: 'Pay us what you owe us'
When the WNBA's biggest stars took the court for the league's All-Star game in Indianapolis on Saturday night, every player on the floor wore a black T-shirt adorned with white lettering sharing a simple message: 'Pay Us What You Owe Us.' After a weekend of celebration for a league that continues to rise in popularity, the players' message was a reminder that they are still looking for a stronger financial foothold in a league that falls far behind its contemporaries in regard to how the athletes are paid. Since the last collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and the players' association was signed in 2020, the economics of the league have shifted rapidly. From 2019 to 2023, the WNBA's revenue increased from $102 million to $119 million, according to Bloomberg. That was before Caitlin Clark's rookie season in 2024, which aided one of the most important years in league history. With Clark in tow, the WNBA set records for merchandise sales last year, and also had its most-watched regular season in 24 years. So far this season, the league's average attendance is the highest it has ever been, according to Across the Timeline. The WNBA has responded to the explosion with expansion. The league will increase to 18 teams by 2030, adding franchises in Portland, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia over the next five years. (The Golden State Valkyries became the W's 13th team this season.) The Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia ownership groups will also pay a $250 million expansion fee — a substantial increase over the $50 million the Valkyries paid in 2023. On top of all that, the WNBA also signed a new television rights deal last summer that will reportedly pay the league $2.2 billion over the next 11 years, an average of $200 million a season. (NBC News' parent company, NBCUniversal, is one of the rights' holders under the new deal.) The biggest issue for the players, then, is how to capitalize on the increase in interest around the game with a new economic model. The WNBPA opted out of the CBA agreement last year, and the deal will expire on Oct. 31 unless a new agreement is reached. Currently, WNBA players receive only 9.3% of league revenue, according to MarketWatch, less than one-fifth the share of most other professional leagues. Players can earn a higher share, but only if certain cumulative revenue targets are reached. In the NBA, players receive 49% to 51% of basketball-related income. In the NFL, players are guaranteed at least 48.8% of revenue in a 17-game season. NHL players receive 50% of hockey-related income. (MLB players do participate in a revenue-share system.) The average salary in the WNBA this season is only a little over $102,000. The entire value of Clark's four-year rookie contract is less than $340,000. She is being paid only $78,066 this year. 'It's time for WNBA players to get a higher percentage of the league's basketball-related income,' Chiney Ogwumike, who last played for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023, wrote in The Players Tribune in May 2024. The league and union met Thursday in advance of the All-Star festivities, though players expressed frustration with the discussions. In addition to salaries, another one of the key issues for the union will be prioritization, or how committed players are expected to be to their WNBA teams. Many players participate in different leagues outside of the WNBA season to supplement their salaries — such as the player-founded Unrivaled league. WNBA owners are lobbying for stricter commitments from players to put the W first, while players hope to maintain flexibility. '[The] meeting was good for the fact that we could be in the same room as the league and the Board of Governors and that type of thing," said Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty forward and union vice president, on Friday. 'But I think, to be frank, it was a wasted opportunity,' she noted. 'We could have really kind of gotten into a deeper dive of everything. Based on their most recent proposal, we just aren't able to get to a place where we're actually even talking about the same thing,' Stewart added. Ultimately, while there will be several details for the league and the players to hammer out between now and the end of October, expect money to be the biggest sticking point. 'Rev sharing is truly transformational,' Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said. 'We want a piece of the entire pie. Not a piece of part of the pie. We're a resilient group. We know the unity it takes to be able to [get] the outcome desired.'
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How the Golden State Valkyries became the WNBA's breakout expansion team
The week of the WNBA All-Star Game, Jess Smith, president of the Golden State Valkyries, shares how the team has quickly built a brand identity in its first year in the league—breaking season ticket records, surpassing expectations on and off the court, and setting a template for future expansion teams. Smith digs into the business impact of 'Caitlin-mania,' how sports is a reflection of wider trends in society, and critical lessons learned in a career that spans the MLB, NHL, Major League Soccer, the National Women's Soccer League—and now the WNBA. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. We're halfway through the Valkyries' inaugural season in the WNBA. How's it going so far? I mean, the team is solidly mid-table in the standings. Is that better than you expected? Were you hoping for more? I mean, for me, I oversee the business side of the Valkyries, but I've known since we hired general manager, Ohemaa Nyanin, and she hired Coach Natalie Nakase that the culture they were building was one of team over self where anything's possible when you can work together. And I think as a fan, for me, and watching this team come together, the defense they play, how they tackle each opponent one by one has just been remarkable. And I think it's a joy to feel what the fans feel in those surprises compared to many expansion teams, regardless of sport, just in the history of sport. For us, that has just been remarkable and it's been quite a journey. How important to the league and to your team's business has Caitlin mania been? I mean, your timing for a new franchise couldn't have been better. You broke records for season ticket sales even before the season started. Is that because of that timing or are there other things that you were doing? So previous to my time here at the Valkyries, I was a part of building Angel City Football Club from day one. That's the women's soccer club in Los Angeles beside Natalie Portman, Julie Uhrman, and Kara Nortman. So different sport, different league, different market, and same playbook to many extents where when you build unapologetically and relentlessly to serve a unique fan base that has been waiting for something powerful in women's sports, you see the output, you see sold-out arenas, sold-out venues, record-breaking merchandise that really translates to also lifestyle merchandise. You see unique audiences pouring in. So the growth has been here for quite some time, and no growth is linear, right? So whenever I talk about growth, I also like to make sure that I'm chatting about since Title IX, there have been so many different moments in time that have led us to where we are today where you're really seeing this full-scale, high-level expansion, no longer, 'Will the league survive?' type of commentary. I think Caitlin—the records she was breaking in college and how she can shoot the ball, the logo threes—it's fun, right? But what she's brought into the league is that traditional sports fan, right? Somebody that tuned in because there was great basketball happening and then followed her into the WNBA and they're like, 'This league is great.' And so certainly she personally has a ton of fans, as she should. She's a great force and great athlete within this league. But I think you're also seeing that as a part of the continued growth, right? For us here at the Valkyries, we're the first expansion team since 2008, and we've said from day one, well, maybe I've said and made everybody else say it, but that's a great responsibility. People have been asking the W for more for a long time, more of everything. Right? We want more teams, we want more roster spots, we want more visibility, we want more, more, more. Well, Golden State was the first answer to more. And so the world, as soon as that happened, kind of turned and said, 'Okay, what are you guys going to do?' Right? To know that as the first expansion team since 2008, we were going to be what people looked at of what the standard would be, not just for us, not just for our fans, not just for the Bay Area, but the future state of this league. And so I think for us it was a really monumental moment actually welcoming Indiana into Chase Center and into what we call Ballhalla. Because as I was talking to different media that week, a lot of what I said was, Caitlin's used to obviously traveling and having a ton of fans wherever she goes, and I think she always will, but I don't know if she was used to coming into an arena that was a sea of violet and truly there in a home court advantage that we were able to put together alongside our fans and community in a short period of time. I'm curious about that audience differentiation. I mean, you mentioned you worked at Angel City FC, you've worked in Major League Baseball, you've worked in the NHL, you worked in Major League Soccer, you've been at a lot of different leagues. What's different about the fan for the W than those other leagues, and I guess what's different about the fan for the Valkyries specifically in your market? Well, I think first and foremost, from the outside looking in, you kind of just assume a sports fan is a sports fan, right? If somebody is a traditional fan, they're going to be a 49ers fan, Giants fan, Sharks fan, you're going to kind of go through the major sports franchises. Well, sometimes that's true. How those fans act within those different realms are much different. And every league does have profiles of demographics that are more apt to be their fans, right? So that's a science. The NHL and Major League Baseball are not approaching things the same way. And I think having experience in multiple different leagues gave me the confidence of understanding and in wanting to build things in a unique way, because that's actually what makes each league powerful in its own. And specific to the W and specific to women's sports, but even more broadly than the W, is it's the women's sports fan that I think has been undervalued and understudied for a really long time, right? So they're not in people's databases probably. I can't tell you the number of people that would come up to me before we went on sale, before we really had a brand and just say, 'Please sell me a premier experience. I want the club with the cool food and the floor seats. I don't want something that assumes I want to pay less to gain more access.' Right? They wanted to be served something like they would be where you would traditionally see that in men's sports. We understood that really no matter what, whether it's WNBA, NBA, MLS, NWSL, you were seeing from a ticketed fan base, from a season ticket holder really always less than 10% of a crossover, so why would you build your product that way? So as I came to the Valkyries, I think the opportunity was so great in that Golden State, they built Chase Center, they've won a few championships along the way, and they're just known to be genuinely caring and genuinely talented at whatever they do on and off the court. I feel like I've joined the Avengers in so many different ways when you walk in these walls. How do you build into the innate trust of Golden State and yet build uniquely for this audience, this young diverse audience that probably isn't closely following the NFL, the NHL, Major League Baseball? Maybe they go to games, maybe they know a little bit, maybe they've chosen one, but it's an audience that is really thoughtful around right now where they spend their time and money. They want to be on things they believe is building a better tomorrow, things they believe brings them community, they want to be around like-minded organizations. And I think for the Bay, this is a woman's sports market. This market's been waiting for something powerful to come. And Bay FC's obviously done a tremendous job launching right before us as well. But this market's also where the world looks to see what comes next. It's innovative. People here don't have the mindset of needing to see something tested before they buy in. In fact, they take pride in wanting to buy in from day one and be those first and early adopters simply because of the region that we are a part of.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Portland expansion team name announced
The post WNBA Portland expansion team name announced appeared first on ClutchPoints. As the WNBA continues to grow, one of its upcoming expansion teams just received its new name. After previously selecting Portland as its next city, the league confirmed the new team would be called the Portland Fire. Portland previously had a WNBA team, also named the Fire, from 2000 to 2002. The league confirmed the revival of the Portland Fire with a one-minute hype video on social media. Like most of the defunct WNBA organizations, the Fire were discontinued due to a lack of general interest. However, over two decades later, the league believes the team will receive substantially more support due to the growing success of women's basketball. The Fire will return in 2026, along with another WNBA expansion team, the Toronto Tempo. Their simultaneous arrivals will grow the league to 15 teams. However, the league will not stop there, as three more teams will arrive in the following seasons. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed a team in Cleveland will debut in 2028, followed by one in Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. The immediate success of the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 is a significant factor in the league's rapid expansion. The Valkyries were welcomed by the San Francisco community with open arms, selling out the 18,000-seat Chase Center in each of their first four home games. Golden State also sold 10,000 season tickets in its inaugural season, becoming the first WNBA expansion team to achieve this milestone. Fire's brief history in WNBA The Fire were initially announced as a 2000 expansion team and played their games at the Moda Center, then known as the Rose Garden. While they shared the same home as the Portland Trail Blazers, which was also a new organization at the time, they barely generated any fan traction. As such, they lasted just three seasons before getting shut down. Former Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, better known as the co-founder of Microsoft, owned the first iteration of the Fire. They improved their record each season, but could never achieve a better than 16-16 record and missed the playoffs each year. Although it is unreasonable to expect an expansion team to succeed immediately, Allen bailed on the team due to its negative financial impact. The 2026 Fire team will be owned by Raj Sports, the same group that owns the Portland Thorns of the NWSL. While the Allen family still owns the Trail Blazers, Jody Allen — Paul's younger sister — is not financially invested in the second attempt at bringing the WNBA to Oregon. Related: Caitlin Clark ranked behind teammate in ESPN WNBA rankings Related: 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend preview
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Nneka Ogwumike moves into 6th place on WNBA's all-time scoring list as Storm beat Valkyries 67-58
SEATTLE — Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points to move into sixth place on the WNBA's all-time scoring list and the Seattle Storm beat the Golden State Valkyries 67-58 on Wednesday. Ogwumike passed Candice Dupree (6,895 points) by one point and is now behind Tamika Catchings, who scored 7,380 in her career.
CBS News
7 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Nneka Ogwumike moves into 6th place on WNBA's all-time scoring list; Storm beat Valkyries
Nneka Ogwumike scored 22 points to move into sixth place on the WNBA's all-time scoring list and the Seattle Storm beat the Golden State Valkyries 67-58 on Wednesday. Ogwumike passed Candice Dupree (6,895 points) by one point and is now behind Tamika Catchings, who scored 7,380 in her career. The Storm (14-9) went to Ogwumike quite often down the stretch. She had 11 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter, including a pivotal layup with 2:09 remaining and a pair of free throws at the 1:18 mark to put Seattle up 61-54. Erica Wheeler had a strong third quarter, sinking back-to-back 3-pointers early and following with a running layup at the 7:41 mark to put the Storm up 39-33. With 2:32 to go in the third, Wheeler converted a three-point play to give Seattle a 45-37 lead. The Valkyries (10-12) made it 56-54 with just 4:48 to go in regulation on a layup from Veronica Burton. Ogwumike's late efforts were enough to stymie the late Golden State push. Wheeler had 15 points. Skylar Diggins scored 10 and Lexie Brown scored seven off the bench. Cecilia Zandalasini had 12 points and Janelle Salaun scored 10 for the Valkyries. The Storm host the Dallas Wings on Tuesday. The Valkyries host the Dallas Wings on July 25.
