The GIST

NWSL teams up with Overtime to reach next generation of soccer fans

The NWSL kicked off an expansive content partnership with youth sports media brand Overtime yesterday, marking the Gen Z–driven company’s first deal with a pro women’s league. By partnering with the popular social media brand, the NWSL will be able to meet younger soccer fans where they are and cultivate new fandom within the next generation.

February 19, 2025

NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Dove sponsorship illustrates how success energizes NWSL fans and sponsors

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Yesterday, NJ/NY Gotham FC inked a multiyear deal with Dove that includes a back-of-jersey sponsorship, reportedly breaking the NWSL’s $500K record for a back-of-jersey logo deal. After years of low turnout, the NYC–adjacent NWSL team has finally been able to take advantage of being in the biggest metro area thanks to big-name signings and on-field success.

February 14, 2025

Top NWSL players leave for Europe as international women’s soccer market heats up

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Global interest in women’s soccer is rising, making for an increasingly competitive international market. And as covered in last week’s episode of The GIST of It, the women’s side differs from the men’s: The NWSL has historically had top billing when it comes to developing and recruiting talent.

February 03, 2025

A deep dive into the new NWSL CBA and women’s pro soccer landscape in North America

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The 2025 NWSL season is less than two months away, and this offseason has already been perhaps the most dramatic ever. The college draft is gone and free agents have more, well, agency than ever before. It’s all because of the league’s landmark 2024 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that went into effect last July and granted significant power to the players.

January 26, 2025

Sixth Street launches Bay Collective to invest in women’s soccer teams globally

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Private equity (PE) giant and Bay FC majority owner Sixth Street is launching a new multi-club women’s soccer organization called Bay Collective. Similar to trailblazer Michele Kang’s Kynisca, the collective aims to foster growth in women’s soccer by investing in clubs worldwide while also creating opportunities to further capitalize on the women’s game.

January 22, 2025

European leagues lead the way in latest Deloitte report on women’s soccer revenue

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On Friday, Deloitte released its third annual Deloitte Football Money League report profiling 15 top revenue-generating women’s soccer clubs during the 2023–2024 season. Deloitte’s data included leagues throughout most of Europe, Brazil, and Japan, but didn’t include data from the U.S. or Australia.

January 22, 2025

Denver wins bid for 16th NWSL team thanks to historic $110M expansion fee

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Per Sportico, Denver beat out competing NWSL cities Cincinnati and Cleveland to secure the league’s 16th franchise yesterday. Investors reportedly paid an expansion fee of $110M, which more than doubles the previous NWSL record and marks the biggest expansion fee in U.S. women’s sports history.

January 03, 2025

Sports Business

Netflix bags U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments

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December 23, 2024

Netflix pulled off quite the heist on Friday by acquiring the U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC). It will be Netflix’s first time covering an entire sports tournament and marks FIFA’s biggest deal with a streamer, not to mention it’s the first time the WWC’s U.S. rights were sold separately from the men’s FIFA World Cup.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #433

A 4 Nations preview, plus Trump's trans athlete ban

February 11, 2025

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A 4 Nations preview, plus Trump's trans athlete ban

Today’s episode of The GIST of It has a little bit of everything with one tournament preview and one WTF moment on deck. Co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz start things off by discussing the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, an NHL hockey tourney that’ll pit Team USA, Team Canada, Team Finland, and Team Sweden against each other for international glory. Icy and spicy.

Then in part two, El and Steph unfortunately have to dig into a massive WTF moment following last week’s news that U.S. president Donald Trump signed an executive order barring trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. El and Steph discuss what exactly an executive order does and the devastating impact this move will have on girls’ and women’s sports.