I’m sticking our flag in the ground: 2024 is our year.

Everywhere you look, women’s sports are going up. 

This year, Deloitte predicts women’s sports will generate $1.3 billion in revenue. That’s up 300% from just 2021. 

Records are falling left and right. From 92,000 fans watching a Nebraska volleyball match to 9.9 million watching last year’s March Madness Final. 

WNBA viewership is the highest it’s been in 20 years, and the NWSL just signed a $240 million TV deal. 

This didn’t just happen overnight. Instead, it’s been years of slow and steady growth now leading to exponential leaps. 

The unsung hero of the story? Digital media. 

Because you see, while everything else has been going up, the share of TV broadcasts dedicated to women’s sports basically hasn’t budged in a decade. What’s exploded in the meantime is everything else: social media, and YouTube, and newsletters and podcasts.

I started Just Women’s Sports because it was obvious to me that there was a massive and growing fanbase whose needs weren’t being served. I could already see what was coming: the broken records in viewership, attendance, investment, and more. None of it has surprised me.

Four years ago, people needed convincing that women’s sports could be big. Now, the numbers speak for themselves.

At JWS, we’ve spent these past four years stacking up wins.

• We’ve partnered with blue chip brands like AT&T, Nike, Visa, Adobe, and more
• We’ve grown our owned audience to 3 million fans, and our monthly reach to 80 million
• We’ve sold out of merch, launched #1 podcasts, hosted live events, and held in-studio shows
• We’ve worked with the biggest athletes, teams and brands in women’s sports

So what’s coming next in 2024?

At JWS, our goal is simple: This is the year we make women’s sports year-round entertainment. 24/7, 365.

What do I mean?

In men’s sports, there’s always a new conversation to join, a new trending athlete to meet, a new debate to jump into. Men’s sports never turn off. Before, during and after big events, there’s an endless supply of content to engage both casual and die-hard fans.

That’s what we need on the women’s side. That’s what we’re building with Just Women’s Sports.

In 2024, that means new shows, expanded programming, and doubling down on our news coverage. It means meeting fans where they are, every single day, so we can convert passing fans into casual fans, and bring casuals into the core.

To help make this happen, Just Women’s Sports has welcomed Ryan Sports Ventures and several strategic individuals to our team of investors. These are industry veterans who recognize the opportunity, understand our vision, and are ready to help us win.

They join a roster that includes Blue Pool Capital, Will Ventures, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s 35 Ventures, and many more VC firms, angel investors, and athletes.

We were ahead of the curve in 2020. We both saw and helped fuel the growth in women’s sports.

This year, we’re not wasting any more time convincing people on women’s sports. Instead, we’re setting out to own this space and cement ourselves as THE digital media platform that ties it all together.

See you at the finish line. LFG.

The 2025 WNBA Finals tipped off with a bang last week, with Friday's Game 1 averaging 1.9 million viewers on ESPN to become the most-watched championship opener since 1997.

The Friday matchup between the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces and the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury peaked at 2.5 million viewers, a 62% increase over the 2024 Finals opener between the Minnesota Lynx and eventual champion New York Liberty.

That Game 1 viewership ranked second only to the inaugural WNBA season championship 28 years ago — a single-elimination title game in which 2.8 million fans watched the Houston Comets take down the New York Liberty on NBC.

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Game 2 continued the record breaking, with Sunday's broadcast averaging 1.2 million viewers on ABC.

With an average of 1.5 million fans tuning in, the first two 2025 WNBA Finals games boast the best viewership numbers in 25 years, nearly matching the 1.54 million average claimed by the opening two clashes between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets on NBC and Lifetime in 2000.

The record-breaking ratings underscore significant viewership growth across the WNBA postseason, with Game 1 Finals ratings increasing by nearly 700% since 2019 while this year's average postseason viewership is already up 16% over 2024.

The NWSL just added another high-profile minority owner, with Chicago Bears star Caleb Williams buying into the ownership group of 2026 expansion team Boston Legacy FC on Thursday.

Via his strategic investment firm 888 Midas, the NFL quarterback joins fellow big-name athletes Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and Olympic gold medal-winning US gymnast Aly Raisman as Boston Legacy investors.

"Women's sports is a movement, and I admire and respect the work that the team and the NWSL continues to do to grow the sport and empower future generations of athletes," the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner said in the club's Thursday announcement. "Boston Legacy FC is building something special, and we're proud to be a part of what's next."

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Boston Legacy controlling owner Jennifer Epstein also noted that the investment from Williams "highlights the powerful momentum of women's professional soccer."

"It symbolizes a new era of cross-league support and recognition," said Epstein. "With best-in-class athletes, a rapidly growing fan base, and undeniable energy around the NWSL, we are proud to welcome Caleb as a partner as we prepare for the 2026 inaugural season."

Athlete investment in women's sports continues to grow, with many teams now following the micro-ownership model made famous by Angel City FC in 2022.

The Houston Dash are on the brink of a $120 million sale, with Sportico reporting on Wednesday that owner Ted Segal is in advanced talks on a deal that would sever the NWSL club's ties to their MLS counterpart, the Segal-owned Houston Dynamo.

Any agreement is likely to face extensive reviews, however, with questions arising about the funding sources of the buyer, RHC Group.

Namely, RHC Group founder Richard Hsiao is the 24-year-old US-born son of Chinese billionaire Jianhua Xiao, who's currently serving a 13-year prison sentence for what the Chinese government described as financial crimes.

According to Sportico sources, RHC's funds do not have ties to Hsiao's father, but instead originate from "the independent wealth of Hsiao's mother, Zhou Hongwen."

While the NWSL traces the proposed deal's funding, Hsiao is already going through the league's standard background check, a process he reportedly began months ago.

Characterizing the league's "due diligence process" as "ongoing," the NWSL said, "As with all such matters, the NWSL Board of Governors retains full authority to approve or deny any ownership change based on the league's governance standards."

Should the Dash sale go through, the prospective new owners reportedly intend to invest in club infrastructure while keeping the team in Houston.

The WNBA released its 2025 All-Defensive Teams on Wednesday, delaying the announcement more than a week amid the fallout from the viral takedown of league leadership by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier.

Collier herself headlines the First Team, with Lynx teammate Alanna Smith, Phoenix Mercury standout Alyssa Thomas, Seattle Storm star Gabby Williams, and the Las Vegas Aces' four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson joining the Minnesota star on the 2025 WNBA All-Defensive roster.

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Second Team honors went to Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston, the Golden State Valkyries' 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player Veronica Burton, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor, and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart.

The WNBA's first-ever co-Defensive Player of the Year award-winners Wilson and Smith put up leading individual stats throughout the 2025 season, with Wilson averaging a league-high 2.3 blocks along with 7.9 defensive rebounds per game while Smith averaged a team-high 1.3 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.

Collier averaged 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, contributing to Minnesota's league-best 97.5 defensive rating, while Williams tied for the second-most single-season steals with 99 — just one short of WNBA legend Teresa Weatherspoon's 1998 record.

In her debut year with the Mercury, Thomas became the first-ever WNBA player to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 9+ assists, and 1+ steals per game while shooting over 50% from the field.

This year's Second Team featured three first-ever selections, with Boston, Burton, and Howard all making their All-Defensive Team debuts.