WNBA: The 2024 Regular Season and Playoffs

JasonEvans said:
When the first WNBA player signs a contract worth $500k, they will begin to celebrate CC.

Yes, you read that right, no one in the WNBA makes even half a mil per season, which is what 2-way players make in the NBA. In fact, no one makes $400k or $300k. The highest paid WNBA player this year will be Jackie Young at $252,450.

Lawyers fresh out of law school make more than that at big law firms.
Click to expand...
I haven't checked in a while, but what is the revenue of the WNBA? It used to be that the NBA subsidized the W (if memory serves correctly). It's hard to pay players top dollar if the league isn't making money. Given the TV coverage lately, I'd think that the league is doing ok, so the salaries should start to reflect that.
 
nmduke2001 said:
I haven't checked in a while, but what is the revenue of the WNBA? It used to be that the NBA subsidized the W (if memory serves correctly). It's hard to pay players top dollar if the league isn't making money. Given the TV coverage lately, I'd think that the league is doing ok, so the salaries should start to reflect that.
Click to expand...
I believe this is the last year of the current media rights deal. There is little question the next deal will be waaaay higher --

The WNBA only makes around $60 million annually on its current media rights deal with ESPN, Scripps, and Amazon. But according to Front Office Sports, the WNBA could see its next deal quadruple to around $240 million per year.
Click to expand...
I bet we see player salaries double over the next 2-3 years... if not more.
 
JasonEvans said:
I believe this is the last year of the current media rights deal. There is little question the next deal will be waaaay higher --


I bet we see player salaries double over the next 2-3 years... if not more.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info.

I, too, believe that the salaries will increase with a new deal. I find it funny that Caitlin gets so much hate from inside the league. She's bringing eyes to the sport and ad revenue to the sport. Everyone is going to benefit. They should be giving her a parade for every road game.

On a side note, the other day, I saw a girl that was about 80 in an Iowa Clark jersey. I live in New Mexico. I've never seen anyone wearing a female athletes jersey much less a college jersey. CC and Angel Reese might be the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of the WNBA.
 
nmduke2001 said:
I haven't checked in a while, but what is the revenue of the WNBA? It used to be that the NBA subsidized the W (if memory serves correctly). It's hard to pay players top dollar if the league isn't making money. Given the TV coverage lately, I'd think that the league is doing ok, so the salaries should start to reflect that.
Click to expand...
I imagined that players made more money in their winter gigs than in the WNBA. Perhaps someone here knows.
 
nmduke2001 said:
Thanks for the info.

I, too, believe that the salaries will increase with a new deal. I find it funny that Caitlin gets so much hate from inside the league. She's bringing eyes to the sport and ad revenue to the sport. Everyone is going to benefit. They should be giving her a parade for every road game.

On a side note, the other day, I saw a girl that was about 80 in an Iowa Clark jersey. I live in New Mexico. I've never seen anyone wearing a female athletes jersey much less a college jersey. CC and Angel Reese might be the Magic Johnson and Larry Bird of the WNBA.
Click to expand...
The girl was 8 not 80.

I have a standing desk and a treadmill. Sometimes typing is not the best while getting in my 10,000 steps.
 
JasonEvans said:
When the first WNBA player signs a contract worth $500k, they will begin to celebrate CC.

Yes, you read that right, no one in the WNBA makes even half a mil per season, which is what 2-way players make in the NBA. In fact, no one makes $400k or $300k. The highest paid WNBA player this year will be Jackie Young at $252,450.

Lawyers fresh out of law school make more than that at big law firms.
Click to expand...

sagegrouse said:
I imagined that players made more money in their winter gigs than in the WNBA. Perhaps someone here knows.
Click to expand...
The early days of the male professional sports saw very low salaries.

As the eyeballs on the game grow, so will the salaries. The key is getting butts in the seats and eyeballs on the broadcasts. Without that, nothing is sustainable.
 
sagegrouse said:
I imagined that players made more money in their winter gigs than in the WNBA. Perhaps someone here knows.
Click to expand...
Historically yes, although those numbers have generally stagnated or dropped in recent years while WNBA numbers have steadily increased in the current CBA and figure to change greatly in the next negotiation ahead of the 2026 season. The overseas salaries are not really based on anything other than what the teams can afford. Women's basketball is not more popular anywhere around the world than in the United States and actual revenue are significantly lower. Very few countries have women's basketball being close to men's basketball in popularity or salary. Besides salary, there are fewer overseas roster spots for American women than American men.

Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier specifically started a league for the top 30 players that they could attract for this winter and are paying the WNBA maximum or slightly more to attract some players who would otherwise go to Europe or China, including our Chelsea Gray.
 
Does anyone take more flagrant fouls than Caitlin? I don't watch enough WNBA to know.

www.espn.com

WNBA - Women's National Basketball Association Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Standings, Rumors

Get the latest WNBA basketball news, scores, stats, standings, and more from ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

At least she got the last laugh. 35 points, she made the free throws, and the Fever won by 1 point.

Edit: As of September 1 it was indeed Caitlin, 17% of WNBA flagrant fouls have been committed against her. However, this guy says it's not that bad.

www.sportingnews.com

Caitlin Clark flagrant fouls: Yes, Fever rookie has had most in WNBA committed against her; no, they're not that bad | Sporting News

A look at all of the flagrant fouls committed against Caitlin Clark during her rookie year
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
 
Last edited:
dudog84 said:
Does anyone take more flagrant fouls than Caitlin? I don't watch enough WNBA to know.

www.espn.com

WNBA - Women's National Basketball Association Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Standings, Rumors

Get the latest WNBA basketball news, scores, stats, standings, and more from ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

At least she got the last laugh. 35 points, she made the free throws, and the Fever won by 1 point.

Edit: As of September 1 it was indeed Caitlin, 17% of WNBA flagrant fouls have been committed against her. However, this guy says it's not that bad.

www.sportingnews.com

Caitlin Clark flagrant fouls: Yes, Fever rookie has had most in WNBA committed against her; no, they're not that bad | Sporting News

A look at all of the flagrant fouls committed against Caitlin Clark during her rookie year
www.sportingnews.com www.sportingnews.com
Click to expand...

Considering she is the face of the league, it's bad that she get hit so often. Some nights she can't buy a call. What I like is that she's 22 years old and thin and getting hit just seems to get her going.

Was interesting that in the 3rd quarter, the Fever had Clark on the court with 4 bench players. So Clark starting hunting her own shot a little more....and she was scoring very well. She does so much to run a team offense (leads the WNBA in assists) that it's easy to forget that she can really score well when she wants to. When Mitchell is on the floor, they can't really have Clark hunt her own shot too much because Mitchell is a bit of a black hole.
 
The Washington Mystics usually play in an arena with a capacity of 4,200. But since Caitlin was coming to town, this non-playoff team hosted the Fever in the Capital One Arena and set a WNBA attendance record of 20,711.

I'm really glad they left Caitlin off the Olympic team, who needs that kind of publicity?

www.espn.com

Mystics 92-91 Fever (Sep 19, 2024) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever WNBA game from September 19, 2024 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
A'ja Wilson was named MVP of the 2024 WNBA season by unanimous vote.

www.wnba.com

Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson Unanimously Wins 2024 KIA WNBA Most Valuable Player Award

Las Vegas Aces center-forward A’ja Wilson has been named the 2024 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player, the WNBA announced today.
www.wnba.com

This marks the record-tying third Kia WNBA MVP Award for Wilson, who also earned the honor in 2020 and 2022. She is the fourth player in WNBA history to win three MVPs, joining Sheryl Swoopes (2000, 2002 and 2005), Lisa Leslie (2001, 2004 and 2006) and Lauren Jackson (2003, 2007 and 2010).

Wilson received all 67 first-place votes (670 points) from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, making her the first unanimous Kia WNBA MVP since the Houston Comets’ Cynthia Cooper in the league’s inaugural season of 1997.
Click to expand...

You can see the voting breakdown in the above link or in the post below. Behind Wilson, the top finishers were Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, rookie Caitlin Clark, and Alyssa Thomas. Clark received 6 third place votes, 26 fourth place votes, and 22 fifth place votes, while fellow rookie Angel Reese got 1 fourth place vote.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1837834701853081729
 
How's this for screwy? The 1st round (quarterfinals) of the playoffs is a 3-game series, and the higher-seeded team gets the 1st 2 games at home.

That's beyond stupid. The fans of half the playoff teams will rarely get to see a game. Who is running this show?
 
dudog84 said:
How's this for screwy? The 1st round (quarterfinals) of the playoffs is a 3-game series, and the higher-seeded team gets the 1st 2 games at home.

That's beyond stupid. The fans of half the playoff teams will rarely get to see a game. Who is running this show?
Click to expand...
The people looking at the budgets. It's not the NBA, where the travel budget is a rounding error. Hopefully, the format can change once the new media rights deal is negotiated.
 
dudog84 said:
How's this for screwy? The 1st round (quarterfinals) of the playoffs is a 3-game series, and the higher-seeded team gets the 1st 2 games at home.

That's beyond stupid. The fans of half the playoff teams will rarely get to see a game. Who is running this show?
Click to expand...
I literally just noticed the same thing this morning and thought “that can’t be right?!”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top