Coming to collect

The GIST: The WNBA’s value is skyrocketing, and it’s projected to get up to $240M for its upcoming media rights deal, which will reportedly be negotiated alongside the NBA’s multibillion-dollar deal.

• If the WNBA does quadruple its media rights value, it could level up from its debt financing through the NBA to becoming a profitable, more independent league — one that may even pursue media rights deals separately. Buy their own diamonds.

The value: The WNBA has seen historic attendance and viewership in 2024 so far, which has prompted increased investment from sponsors like Coinbase. Right now, the WNBA earns about $60M per year from its TV deals, but is expected to notch somewhere between $180M and $240M in its forthcoming rights deal — coincidentally, the same amount as the NWSL’s new agreement.

The structure: Despite recent wins, the league has yet to turn a profit, and part of that is its complicated relationship with the NBA. The men’s basketball league did jumpstart the W and infused it with cash, but has also held it back financially. Historically, NBA partnerships have been WNBA ones by extension, yet brands rarely marketed to W crowds or sponsored athletes — until recently.

• This has created the unfair perception that the WNBA is a “drain” on the NBA’s coffers, although debt financing and equity is normal for newer businesses. However, the WNBA is 28 years in and has arguably outgrown its current structure where the NBA gets 40% of W revenue and investors get 20%, leaving 40% for the league and less than 10% for players.

The losses: In 2018, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the WNBA operates at a $10M annual loss, and a 2024 Washington Post report ups this figure to $50M, partially due to the $25M earmarked for charter flights. Yet NBA investment, along with the league’s first-ever $75M capital raise, is quickly paying off: WNBA revenue was approximately $200M in 2023, up from $102M in 2019.

The future: Media rights are key to boosting the league’s profitability, which could unlock more player-forward services and amenable CBA terms if players choose to renegotiate this year. While debt financing is normal as businesses start out, the WNBA wields the power to become profitable and to help its players to reach the next level…sponsorships and sellouts are only the beginning.

The GIST: Women’s soccer is growing globally, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s Women’s Champions League is a key example of this. The inaugural tournament will kick off this August after piquing the interest of 22 of the confederation’s 47 member nations and announcing $1.3M in prize money. All around the world.

The format: The AFC Women’s Champions League’s preliminary stage will whittle down the main tournament field to 12 teams, followed by quarter-finals in March 2025, then semifinals and a championship in May 2025. The AFC confirmed that each team in the group stage will receive at least $100K, with the opportunity to earn more based on the final standings.

The context: Europe kicked things off in 1955 with the UEFA men’s Champions League, eventually followed by the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2001. Similarly, AFC has hosted a men’s Champion’s League since 1967, but its women’s competition has taken years to get off the ground.

• However, AFC’s women’s league isn’t starting far behind its male or European counterparts — only 23 AFC nations entered the men’s inaugural tournament, and the $1.3M prize money is comparable to UEFA Women’s Champions League’s winnings, despite the 23-year head start.

The trend: As interest in women’s soccer grows, the market outside of the FIFA Women’s World Cup allows regional soccer governing bodies to hold and improve such competitions. Concacaf announced its own Women’s Champions Cup this March, while UEFA outgrew its current Women’s Champions League format and revamped it for 2025.

Zooming out: By all metrics, the AFC’s Women’s Champions League is off to a promising start — half of its member clubs are interested, pilot editions have drawn sizable crowds, and it's helping to showcase the growth of Saudi Arabian women’s soccer.

• Better yet, this allows Australia and Asia — especially Japan, which has developed a deep talent pool — to grow further as a hub for international soccer and compete with leagues like the NWSL and WSL. All up in the news.

Consider yourself (or a friend) a women’s sports advocate? Gainbridge, an innovative digital financial services platform and one of the leading brand partners in the space, wants to help you expand your impact with $5K grants.

• After last year’s rousing success, Gainbridge partnered with Parity, a sponsorship platform for pro female athletes, and the Women’s Sports Foundation to host their second annual Parity Week — and this time they’re upping the ante with game-changing grants for those who support women and girls through sports.

• If your project to promote women’s athletics could use a financial boost, apply for a grant. The GIST community is brimming with game-changers, and Gainbridge is eager to help them make their women’s sports (and personal finance) dreams come true.

Gainbridge knows a good investment when they see one, which is why they’re going all in on women’s sports, from hosting Parity Week to spending 47% of their sponsorship dollars on female athletes.

• Apply for a grant, and you could join a little someone named Caitlin Clark as Gainbridge’s next partner in growing the game.