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WNBA projects $200 million in 2023 revenue, per report

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(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

The WNBA is projecting record revenue growth in 2023.

According to Bloomberg, the league is set to capitalize on a record-breaking 2022 season with profits in the 2023 season nearly doubling those from 2019.

Currently, the league is projected to bring in between $180 million and $200 million in combined team and league revenue, up from roughly $102 million in 2019. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called the league’s 27th season “a growth story.”

“It’s such a multi-dimensional transformation of what was quite a small league,” she said.

But while the league’s revenue is growing, salaries are reportedly shrinking. According to Bloomberg, base salaries as a share of the total revenue decreased from 11.1 percent in 2019 to 9.3 percent in 2022.

Despite the uptick in revenue, revenue sharing has not kicked in under the current collective bargaining agreement. In order to trigger revenue sharing, the league would have to see 20 percent revenue growth each year. Bloomberg reports that the WNBA would need to bring in an additional $30 million to trigger the clause; and even if that happened, only 17.5 percent of that would go toward player compensation.

But that doesn’t mean salaries will remain as they are outlined in the current CBA, under which salaries increase 3 percent each year to adjust for inflation.

The current CBA, signed in 2020, runs through 2027. The WNBA Players’ Association, however, is allowed to abandon the agreement in roughly 18 months, or at the end of the 2024 season. According to Bloomberg, the union is expected to exercise that option, though WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson wouldn’t confirm or deny the possibility.

“We represent the collective interests of The 144,” she said in a statement, “and we take our direction from them.”

ESPN Picks Up WNBA Preseason Game Featuring Fever Star Clark’s Iowa Return

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark signs autographs before a 2024 WNBA Playoff game.
The Indiana Fever will feature in ESPN’s first-ever WNBA preseason game. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

WNBA star Caitlin Clark and the Fever will hit the airwaves sooner than expected this year, with multiple sources reporting that ESPN will televise a preseason game between Indiana and the Brazil national team on May 4th.

The broadcast boost will reportedly make the Fever vs. Brazil matchup the WNBA's first-ever nationally televised exhibition game, a move that comes after a 2024 preseason battle between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky earned more than two million streams — from a fan's cellphone.

LSU teammates Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese celebrate a play during a 2024 NCAA tournament game.
Newly reunited in the WNBA, Van Lith and Reese's Chicago Sky will play a preseason game at LSU in May. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

WNBA teams follow in the Indiana Fever's preseason footsteps

The May matchup will mark the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year's return to Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with the Fever set to play in front of a sold-out crowd at Clark's alma mater.

Indiana isn't the only team taking a trip down memory lane this preseason, with several teams bringing exhibition games to university arenas before the 2025 WNBA season tips off on May 16th.

Two days before facing the Fever, Brazil will clash with the Sky at Chicago star Angel Reese's collegiate home of LSU — an arena also familiar to new Sky recruit Hailey Van Lith.

Also on May 2nd, Notre Dame will host legendary alums Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, and Jackie Young when the Las Vegas Aces play the Dallas Wings at South Bend's Purcell Pavilion.

2025 WNBA Draft Draws Second-Highest Viewership in ESPN History

The 2025 WNBA Draft class poses on stage after the event.
ESPN’s 2025 WNBA Draft was the second most-watched on record. (Melanie Fidler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Monday’s 2025 WNBA Draft scored the second-highest viewership in the event's history, with an average of 1.25 million viewers tuning into ESPN to witness the league’s newest young stars turn pro.

The broadcast peaked at 1.46 million viewers, becoming just the second-ever WNBA Draft to surpass the million-fan mark.

That rise represents a 119% increase over the 2023 edition, with Monday's live event weighing in as the night’s most popular programming among key demographics across both broadcast and cable TV.

NCAA superstars fuel enthusiasm for WNBA Draft

Interest in the WNBA Draft hit a steep peak in 2024, as an average of 2.45 million viewers watched Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark start her WNBA journey with the Indiana Fever.

This year’s iteration also offered a wealth of star power, featuring No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers as well as other 2025 Final Four standouts.

"We're just continuing to try to grow the game, expand the game, bring the viewership from the college game to the WNBA," Bueckers told reporters gathered at The Shed in Manhattan.

"I think the new wave and generation of basketball players are bringing so much to the game, but obviously off the foundation that the players before us have built," she added.

With more NCAA basketball fans following their favorites to the pros, it's now up to the WNBA to sustain that interest through the regular season — and beyond.

USA Hockey Remains Undefeated Ahead of 2025 IIHF World Championship Knockouts

Team USA celebrates Lee Stecklein's goal during their 2025 IIHF World Championship group-stage game against Canada.
The USA topped their IIHF World Championship group with four straight wins. (Andrea Cardin/IIHF)

After a dominant group-stage run to advance to the quarterfinals, Team USA will take the ice for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship knockout rounds on Thursday.

Winning all four games so far — including a 2-1 victory over reigning champs Canada on Sunday — the Group A victors join Group B winners Sweden as the tournament's only remaining undefeated teams.

After taking silver in last year's edition, Team USA is well on their way to avenging their runners-up status — with the possibility of squaring off against their North American rivals once again in Sunday’s final starting to take shape.

First, however, the US must take down Germany in their Thursday quarterfinal to claim a spot in Saturday's semis.

Other quarterfinal matchups include Finland battling Sweden, Canada going up against Japan, and host nation Czechia taking on Switzerland.

USA hockey star Hilary Knight skates against Canada during a 2023 game.
USA star Hilary Knight became the IIHF World Championship assists leader on Tuesday. (Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)

Knight adds another World Championship record to her resume

Helping buoy Team USA's momentum is veteran star Hilary Knight, who made tournament history on Tuesday.

With three assists in the USA's 5-0 win over Switzerland, Knight claimed the all-time IIHF Women's World Championship assist record with 50 total tournament assists, surpassing Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser's previous mark of 49.

The 35-year-old forward adds the assist record to an already stellar IIHF World Championship resume.

Her 14 medals — nine of them gold — make Knight the tournament's most decorated athlete of all time. Stepping onto Tuesday's ice, her 67 goals and 117 points across her now-15 World Championship editions already made Knight the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer and points-leader.

The USA icon's six points throughout the 2025 competition have her trailing just Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin's eight points.

"A lot has been said [about Knight’s career], but she is just phenomenal, not only as a player but a human being," said defender Caroline Harvey after Knight's record-breaking performance on Tuesday.

"She leads this team, and she's leaving a lasting impact for years and years to come."

How to watch Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship

Team USA will take the ice for their quarterfinal against Germany at 7:30 AM ET on Thursday, with live coverage on the NHL Network.

LPGA Stars Land in California for the 2025 LA Championship

Australian golfer Hannah Green lines up a putt at the 2025 Ford Championship.
Australia's Hannah Green is shooting for her third straight LA Championship title. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Before the LPGA’s biggest names gear up for next week’s Chevron Championship, many are turning to this week's 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship for a chance to sharpen their skills — and pad their bank accounts.

A total of $3.75 million is on the line in Southern California, where 144 of the world's top golfers will take aim at a piece of one of the largest non-major purses on the LPGA Tour.

The stars will be out in full force when the LA Championship's first round begins on Thursday, including 16 of the world's Top 25 golfers, led by No. 1 Nelly Korda in her first return to El Caballero since 2023.

After sitting out several late-season 2024 tournaments with a neck injury, Korda has maintained her fitness through 2025, taking a planned seven-week break before rejoining the Tour last month.

"I kind of have the first part of [the] year until Chevron kind of set," Korda told reporters about her 2025 schedule in January. "After that, it'll be just how my body is feeling."

Australian golf star Hannah Green and US standout Nelly Korda walk across the green together after teeing off at a 2022 tournament.
Reigning champ Green and top contender Korda headline the 2025 LA Championship field. (Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Defending champ Hannah Green uses third title hunt to give back

While Korda is sure to draw crowds, all eyes will be on Australia’s Hannah Green as the world No. 5 golfer attempts to secure a third straight LA Championship title.

Green is already off to a strong start this year, earning two top 10 finishes in her first four 2025 tournaments.

The reigning champion is also giving back, pledging $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for each eagle she makes this week to the Los Angeles Fireman's Relief Association in the wake of January's destructive wildfires.

"California has been such a special place to my heart, so I want to give back in any way possible," the 28-year-old explained.

How to watch the LPGA Tour at the 2025 LA Championship

The first round of the 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship tees off on Thursday morning.

Coverage of each of the tournament's four rounds will air daily at 6 PM ET on The Golf Channel.

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