It’s Showtime

The GIST: Following up last year’s NWSL valuations, Sportico released estimated valuations for all 12 WNBA teams yesterday. Leading the pack? The back-to-back champions Las Vegas Aces at $140M, followed by the Seattle Storm at $135M.

• The sports business outlet spoke to 30 WNBA sources — including bankers, investors, owners, and team executives — over the past six weeks, and based its methodology on “control” transactions rather than limited partnership sales. Let’s dive in.

💰 WNBA franchises are collectively worth $1.16B, or $96M on average. This number includes real estate and assets such as practice facilities, which bolstered high rankings for the Aces and Storm. Conversely, limited infrastructure like smaller stadiums can hinder growth — the Atlanta Dream, who play in a 3.5K-seat arena far below league average, ranked last with a $55M valuation.

🃏 Owner Mark Davis’ investment in the Aces paid off. Since buying the team from MGM International for roughly $2M in 2021, Davis made Becky Hammon one of the league’s highest-paid coaches, built a $40M practice facility, and has seen his team win consecutive championships. Aces high.

⛈️ Seattle may be undervalued. Earlier this year, the Storm were believed to be the highest-valued WNBA franchise after raising $21M from 15 new investors at a $130M valuation, giving them a $151M post-money valuation. This helped fund a $64M practice facility and business office for the Storm, an asset that should appreciate and boost valuation.

🗽 The NY Liberty could quickly eclipse the Aces and Storm. The Liberty sits third in the league with a $130M valuation, but its $18M 2023 revenue was the highest in the WNBA. This success could continue in 2024 thanks to the franchise’s invested front office and superteam status, not to mention parent company BSE Global was just valued at $6B. Forget the big three.

The GIST: It’s no secret that stars sell, and that’s exactly what the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark did in their June 15th matchup, which was the most-watched WNBA game in 23 years. They’re poised to be the WNBA’s next big rivalry, and while all this attention may feel new, superstar clashes have powered the W and NBA in the past.

Reese and Clark: The duo — who first made major headlines after 2023’s record-setting NCAA women’s March Madness championship — continue to shatter viewership records when they share the court. Last week’s matchup averaged 2.25M viewers, peaked at 3M, and was the most-streamed WNBA game ever.

Bird and Magic: Reese and Clark are already drawing early comparisons to NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, one of the greatest NBA rivalries of all time. Their rivalry — which also started with an NCAA championship game — headlined three NBA Finals in four years and was credited with revitalizing the NBA.

Weatherspoon and Swoopes: While Bird and Magic changed how the NBA was perceived, Teresa Weatherspoon and Sheryl Swoopes’ rivalry in the early WNBA days set the bar high for interest. Liberty guard Weatherspoon and Houston Comets forward Swoopes faced off in the 1997, 1999, and 2000 WNBA Finals — all of which were won by the Comets.

• Viewership and attendance has declined since the W’s late ‘90s heyday. Before the recent Sky-Fever game, all 10 most-watched WNBA games took place before 2001, but Reese and Clark are quickly getting back to those vintage numbers.

Zooming out: Basketball is a team sport, but marketing-wise, it benefits most from singling out big-name superstars. These two are building a truly compelling rivalry on the court, and as Bird vs. Magic and Weatherspoon vs. Swoopes proved, this can mean a winning formula that drives the game forward. It’s Showtime.