An upbeat Tempo
From The GIST Sports Biz (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hello hello!
Over the weekend, Boardroom ranked what it considers to be the WNBA’s most marketable players, led by Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson. While putting the W’s first-ever 4x MVP on top shouldn’t be controversial, the comments were heated about where Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese fell on the list.
- So, who is the most marketable of them all? The title is up for grabs, and we’d love to hear what you think. Reply to this email with your take and you might see it featured in an upcoming newsletter. All ears.
WNBA
🏀 An upbeat tempo
The GIST: Canadian mattress brand Endy is returning as the WNBA’s official sleep partner in Canada, touting a new campaign that stars Canadian athletes across the league. The move doubles down on impressive fan growth in the country, which both Canadian and multinational brands are noting.
- The campaign also illustrates that affinity for the W extends beyond Toronto’s new hometown team to the Canadian players that have been drawing fans since before the Tempo. So not slept on.
The success: The 2026 WNBA Draft saw a 172% YoY viewership increase on TSN, while the Tempo’s inaugural home opener drew a sellout crowd of 8.2K. The past several years have been building to this moment: The league has sold out all four Canadian games since 2023. And now, Canada represents nearly half of all international WNBA merch sales, according to Endy.
The homegrown talent: Last year, only four WNBA athletes (2.2%) were Canadian, and Endy is working with three of them: Returning ambassador and Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards, Toronto Tempo guard Kia Nurse, and Golden State Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere.
- Investing in Canadian athletes is not a totally new concept: Nurse, in particular, has been the face of several Canadian brand partnerships, including Maybelline Canada, Peace Collective, and Canadian Tire — which she joined with Edwards.
Zooming out: As the W grew in the North, so did its Canadian fandom, and that helped Toronto land an expansion franchise. But even with a Canadian team in the mix, brands like Endy still value the opportunity to partner directly with Canadian athletes no matter where they play — although Edwards and Nurse are both currently with the Tempo.
- That’s likely because local fans supported Canadian WNBA stars long before they had a hometown team to cheer for. It’ll take time to build that same fervent fandom around the Tempo (and its American players), but for now, Canadian brands can easily score loyalty points by partnering with national heroes. Making money moves.
Together With Major League Volleyball
🏐 Setting the bar
The 2026 Major League Volleyball (MLV) season came to an electric finish over the weekend with a postseason match that not only delivered on the court, but also marked a huge W for the league’s continued growth.
Your highlight reel of the action:
- 🏆 Dallas Pulse claims the title, beating Omaha Supernovas in a thrilling 5-set victory.
- ⭐️ Match MVP Sofia Maldonado Diaz set the tone with 26 kills while middle blocker Tristin Savage shut down the Supernovas offense with 7 blocks to claim the W.
- ✅ One million dollars and the MLV Trophy? Secured.
This season, the athletes played for over 400k fans throughout the league, with all of the 116 matches broadcast. Wins all around.
🔥 Portland Fire fields historic crowd in inaugural home opener
Portland, Oregon, has touted itself as the “epicenter of women’s sports,” and on Saturday, the city made good on its claim. The Fire hosted 19.3K fans at its home opener at the Moda Center, the second-largest season-opening crowd in W history. In addition to making history, fans were treated to an Ashanti halftime show as the Fire invests in its entertainment.
- Nielsen said WNBA Draft viewership in Portland was up 40% YoY, and last week, CNBC estimated the Fire’s worth at $380M and that it could generate $50M in revenue. The Rose City is the ultimate hype man: Multnomah County — which includes much of Portland — dubbed May 3rd as “503 Day,” an annual day celebration of women’s sports. A rosy outlook.
🚀 WNBA ecosystem expands as new secondary league hopes to become WNBA’s G League
Former WNBA president Donna Orender is now serving as commissioner for Upshot, a new secondary women’s basketball league launching on May 15th. The league, which will overlap the W’s schedule with a May-September season, is hoping to become a G League equivalent on the women’s side with an official WNBA partnership later down the line.
- But it’s not the only organization that’s spotted this critical gap in the pipeline: The Women’s Premier Basketball Association (WPBA), which partnered with The Sports Bra in March, is another organization looking to assist.
🏈 Carolina Panthers owners make $1M commitment to girls flag football in the Carolinas
The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation recently committed $1M to support girls high school flag football programs across North Carolina and South Carolina, adding to the $1.5M in regional grants for the sport since 2022. The Teppers — who own the NFL’s Carolina Panthers — have been instrumental in promoting the sport in North Carolina, where its high school sports athletics association just made girls flag football a varsity sport.
🦋 After signing Angel Reese, the Atlanta Dream tapped a subsidiary of the Monarch Collective to manage the team’s merchandise business. Flying high and looking fly.
👀 More than 50% of WNBA players are with new teams this season — not surprising with the new CBA in place.
🏐 This weekend’s MLV championship match drew a sellout crowd of 4.5K fans at Comerica Center in Frisco, TX.
🫂 Fox is funding research at Harvard’s Kennedy School to determine if sports can help with the loneliness epidemic in the U.S.
🥎 AI may be transforming everything, but not softball (at least, not yet): AUSL commissioner Kim Ng says the league isn’t ready to implement a digital system to challenge umpire calls.
🦢 Angel City FC cofounder Natalie Portman will star in Pumping Black, a psychological thriller set in the professional cycling world that’s expected to channel her iconic Black Swan performance.
🌊 The World Surf League (WSL) is opening itself up to investment and a potential sale. Surf’s up.
📺 What to read about
The true story behind the Netflix series “Running Point,” a basketball comedy starring Kate Hudson. Season two is now streaming on Netflix.
🕯️ What to gift
The 19th Hole candle. For the golf lover who’s more into vibes than putting—think fresh-cut grass, iced tea and end-of-round relaxation.
👕 Where to shop
Playa Society. With WNBA season underway, they have you covered with all the fashionable W merch you could want.
Today's email was brought to you by Aryanna Prasad Bhullar and Briana Ekanem. Fact checking by Bonnie Lee. Operations by Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Alessandra Puccio, and Lisa Minutillo. Managing edits by Molly Potter, Katie Kehoe Foster, and Ellen Hyslop. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.