Is the WNBA a profitable league? Examining how the league has performed financially over the years

Like other pro sports leagues, the WNBA is a business. At their base, the goal of every business is to make a profit.

Former NBA commissioner David Stern founded the WNBA in the spring of 1996. The first season began a year later with the league consisting of 12 teams based in the United States.

However, over the next 25 years, the league has not been profitable.

Back in 2018, current NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke on the league's financial outlook. He cited that the WNBA has never once turned a profit. The league loses roughly $10 million a year and lost close to $12 million in 2017.

While things might look bleak, the league is slowly making strides. Viewership is trending in the right direction, and they recently landed $75 million in investment money. The league as a whole is now valued at around $1 billion.

How much money does the WNBA bring in?

In 2019, it was reported that the league brought in $60 million in revenue. Due to the current collective bargaining agreement, $12.3 million of that was distributed among players.

That same year, the NBA brought in over $7 billion in revenue. Part of this sizeable gap has to do with sheer volume. Not only does the NBA have more than double the number of teams, but they play a far greater number of games during the year.

This drastic difference in revenue is why the wage gap between men's and women's pro basketball players is so large. The highest-paid WNBA player made $228,000 last year. Meanwhile, Steph Curry is set to make $48.1 million for the Golden State Warriors.

One thing the women have going for them is that their popularity is on the rise. The 2019 season saw a 200% increase in viewership during the regular season. Their highest-viewed game came in at just over 29 million.

The league still has a long way to go before it turns a profit, but things are heading in the right direction.