That’s a wrap

The GIST: While viewership of this year’s NCAA women’s March Madness did dip in the post–Caitlin Clark era, women’s basketball fandom is certainly here to stay. The tournament wrapped with a dominant UConn win over South Carolina and so much more: A sold-out crowd, historic audiences, and promising growth. Let’s crunch the numbers.

📺 3.9M: Average viewership for both Final Four matchups, making it the third most-watched semifinal round in tournament history. Viewership was down 64% from last year (10.8M), however, and dropped 14% from 2023 (4.54M).

🌴 19,731: Attendance for yesterday’s final in Tampa, Florida, resulting in full sellout at Amalie Arena. While the men’s tournament also tends to pack the house, it’s typically granted much larger venues like this year’s 64K-seater Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

• The sites are decided years in advance and will be smaller for the women through 2031: Indianapolis will host the men’s tourney at 70K-seater Lucas Oil Stadium in 2026, yet will host the women at 18K-seater Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 2028. Hmm…

💰 200%: The YoY rise in ad sales for the women’s tournament, according to ESPN. A whopping 95% of inventory was sold when the tourney began, with championship ad inventory going for more than $1M. ESPN parent Disney compared these prices to commercials sold during the NBA Finals or the College Football Playoff National Championship.

🏀 $65M: What ESPN will pay the NCAA annually to air the women’s championship for the next eight years, a deal that’s been criticized for undervaluing the elite product. Experts argued that women’s March Madness was worth between $81M and $112M, and that was before the tournament final outpaced the men’s final in viewership in 2024. Speak on it.

The GIST: This week, Chelsea F.C. shared financial results for the 2023–2024 season, including the valuation for its women’s side. With Chelsea reorganizing its women’s team under subsidiary BlueCo 22 Midco Limited, the WSL club is reportedly worth $257M, making it the highest-valued women’s soccer team in the world — and topping Angel City FC’s $250M valuation.

• While the sky-high value is a major win for women’s soccer, the club’s financial backstory highlights how many WSL teams are subject to the politics of joint EPL ownership, something NWSL clubs (mostly) don’t face as an independent league. Fair play.

The report: Because of the sale, Chelsea was able to offset club losses on the books. The club reported a pre-tax profit of $166M after a loss of $116M in 2022–2023. Chelsea’s restructuring allows the women’s team to receive additional investment and spend big on players without a main jersey sponsor, which is tough without the extra millions acquired through such deals.

The context: However, the sale of Chelsea’s women’s team is still being reviewed by the EPL. While using this sale to offset losses may work in the English men’s league, UEFA is more discerning: Sales of tangible assets to affiliates don’t count toward Financial Fair Play (FFP) calculations, meaning profits from selling the women’s team won’t help the club’s debt in their eyes.

Zooming out: It wouldn’t be surprising if Chelsea’s dominant women’s team was the highest-valued women’s soccer club in the world, but it remains to be seen if this internal valuation is indeed accurate. If the UEFA deems the number inaccurate, the Blues could be subject to a fine.

• If the valuation is correct, it would put the WSL team barely above Angel City, and other NWSL teams aren’t far behind. The Kansas City Current is worth $182M, and at least four NWSL clubs generated $20M+ in revenue last year, higher than Chelsea’s revenue of $14.7M. Please mind the gap.

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