How Much Is WNBA Revenue: Ticket Sale, Average Salary, and More

The Women’s National Basketball Association continues to experience remarkable upward trends regarding both its financial figures and fanbase growth in recent times. The league achieved $200 million in revenue in 2024, beginning from $102 million in 2019. There are various factors that are involved in the revenue growth, such as enhanced viewing numbers and enhanced game attendance levels, together with strategic alliances drive this significant WNBA revenue increase. A 67% boost in average broadcast viewership confirmed the 2024 WNBA season when a total of 556,184 spectators watched each game. So, how much revenue does the WNBA generate? Let's find out.

How Much Revenue Does the WNBA Generate?

According to Statista, the WNBA's revenue is quite low, as it generates much less money than its parent NBA. The National Basketball Association earned more than $10 billion during its 2022-23 season, to show the wide financial gap with the WNBA. WNBA generates revenue at a critical level because this money determines player wages and league progression rates. WNBA players collect only 9.3% of league revenue, while the majority of sports leagues distribute a significantly higher percentage to their players.

The WNBA benefits from increased monetary gains, which in a sense boosts player pay levels. This means if the revenue is high, it not only boosts player salaries but it will also attract top talent to the team. In the long haul, this growth will allow the league to invest in key areas like marketing, infrastructure, and more. There are many questions that people have regarding the WNBA and its players, especially the question of whether the WNBA has ever made a profit. The answer is yes, as Arike Ogunbowale and Jewell Loyd are among the highest-paid players.

Breaking Down the WNBA's Revenue Source

The WNBA's revenue comes from analysing multiple strategic revenue streams. According to ESPN, the WNBA made a $2.2 billion 11-year media rights agreement in July 2024. The agreement binds Disney with NBCUniversal as well as Amazon Prime Video while granting nationwide and worldwide distribution rights for more than 125 games each year on ABC alongside ESPN, ESPN2, USA Network, Peacock, and Prime Video. The WNBA gains financial strength through its corporate partnerships, advertising arrangements, and sponsorships. Teams maximized their sponsor media value to reach a historic total of $136 million in 2024, which supported Nike, AT&T, and Michelob Ultra and their brands. The increase in social media engagement resulted in an extraordinary 470% rise in TikTok post interactions from one year to the next.
The WNBA sustains its business operations through the sale of tickets along with merchandise items. During the 2024 season, the Indiana Fever achieved an all-time high by bringing 340,715 fans to their home games. The WNBA generates substantial income through its merchandise sales, which include basketball jerseys and branded apparel, apart from ticket revenue.
Team expansion events require significant investments from owners combined with support from associated cities, despite the absence of financial documents about those expenses. The additions of new facilities produce extra revenue channels based on ticketing sales, together with merchandise items, and local corporate agreements, which support the overall financial capability of the league. The WNBA had Well-rounded revenues from broadcasting contracts, alongside ticket sales and merchandise, enabling the WNBA to maintain organizational operations, pay players, and finance advancement strategies.

NBA vs. WNBA Revenue – Which League Earns More?

The NBA vs WNBA revenue fundamentally differ in terms of revenue generation, while maintaining divergent numbers of teams, TV broadcasting aspects, fan engagement, and athlete salaries systems. The NBA operates with thirty teams, while the WNBA maintains twelve teams in its league. Media rights deals for the NBA reach an annual $2.7 billion, while the WNBA revenue received was about $60 million per year. The NBA attracts significantly more fans because its average game attendance reaches 18,324 spectators, whereas WNBA games average 6,615 spectators.

The WNBA continues to grow even with the ongoing differences in team numbers and TV contracts. The WNBA revenue generated in 2024 was $200 million, which is double the 2019 revenue of $102 million. The 2023 WNBA Finals received its biggest television audience since the 1999 season, with 7,28,000 people watching each game. WNBA's revenue also included, merchandise sales experienced explosive growth in 2022, with a staggering 756% increase in the market. The WNBA expands but remains substantially behind the NBA in terms of both financial returns and fanbase participation levels.

How Does the WNBA Share Its Revenue?

The NBA, alongside the WNBA, produces different financial systems that direct money-sharing methods between teams and compensation levels for their athletes. To achieve competitive balance throughout teams, the NBA distributes revenue through a sharing system. A central pool receives money from team revenues until it achieves equal financial support for every league organization. During the 2021-2022 season, the NBA financial pot, receiving contributions from the Golden State Warriors, combined with the Los Angeles Lakers, reached over $88 million, which supported smaller market teams.

The NBA functions as the principal financial backer for the WNBA, along with its operations. The NBA owners invested substantially to support the WNBA since its launch in 1996 by acquiring a controlling 75% stake in the league. Investments from NBA owners have not prevented the WNBA from operating at a financial deficit, which experts predict to reach $40 million during the 2024 season. The NBA player salary levels exceed WNBA levels because the NBA generates substantially greater revenue. The NBA’s substantial revenue-driven model enables player compensation benefits through enough capital, but the WNBA faces monetary limitations that restrict the salaries of its female athletes.

The WNBA is committed to making itself financially independent. The league secured new media rights agreements, which produced a major deal with Amazon Prime Video to build up revenue streams. The WNBA’s growth and sustainability obtain support from major corporations, including Nike. Through its revenue-sharing approach, the NBA creates team balance yet simultaneously allows teams to compensate their athletes with higher salaries. The NBA provides critical funding to support WNBA operations, yet the league maintains a goal to obtain financial independence by establishing new investment partnerships.

Has The WNBA Ever Made a Profit?

Ever since its founding in 1997, the Women’s National Basketball Association has retained non-profit status due to its continuous losses. The NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, reported in 2018 that the WNBA generated average yearly losses exceeding $10 million from its establishment in 1997, amounting to at least $280 million in total financial deficits. According to the Front office sports, recent expansion has brought growth to the WNBA, but has not eliminated its financial difficulties. WNBA leaders predicted the league would sustain annual losses exceeding $50 million during 2024, although revenue grew through increased television viewership and higher gate and merchandise sales numbers.

How much revenue does the WNBA generate? The WNBA continues to experience financial problems because of multiple interconnected causes. It distributes 40 percent of its financial returns to teams, along with players, and forwards the remaining 60 percent to the NBA and outside investors. The operational budgets of the league surpass its collected revenue because they must cover expenses linked to player payments and travel expenses. The WNBA faces difficulty generating revenue because its smaller market size, when compared to the NBA, causes both television viewership and spectator numbers to decrease significantly.