Morning Edition

May 16, 2025

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The WNBA grew enormously in 2024, spurred largely by interest in Caitlin Clark. The league’s next step: maintaining its momentum for those new fans, and those who follow them—with a contentious CBA negotiation looming.

—Colin Salao, Alex Schiffer, and Annie Costabile

The WNBA’s Billion-Dollar Question: What Comes After the Boom?

The Indianapolis Star

The WNBA returns Friday, one year after rising to new heights upon the addition of Caitlin Clark.

The league set records across the board, from viewership to attendance and merchandise. This season, the WNBA has the opportunity to show it wasn’t just a one-year spike—especially with its 11-year, $2.2 billion media deal kicking in next year.

The preseason provided a positive indicator for the WNBA as the Indiana Fever’s exhibition blowout win over the Brazil women’s national team drew 1.3 million viewers on ESPN, more than the network’s average for regular-season games last year.

What’s New?

Player movement and league parity: There’s expected to be an expanded group of title contenders this year. Following a .500 season, the Fever are in the hunt after adding several star veterans. But perennial contenders also made moves: The defending champion New York Liberty replaced Courtney Vandersloot with Natasha Cloud, and the Las Vegas Aces traded Kelsey Plum for Jewell Loyd. Brittney Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream, and the Phoenix Mercury replaced her and a retired Diana Taurasi with Satou Sabally and five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas. The Minnesota Lynx, last year’s runners-up, led by Unrivaled cofounder Napheesa Collier, were the pick of 60% of WNBA GMs to win the 2025 Finals.
Expansion: The Golden State Valkyries make their official debut Friday at the Chase Center against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Valkyries, the first WNBA expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008, are owned by Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who paid a $50 million expansion fee. He told head coach Natalie Nakase that he aims to win a title within the first five years. The WNBA will add two teams next year in Toronto and Portland, while an unannounced 16th franchise is expected by 2028.
Schedule: Each team will play a record 44 games this season, up from 40 last year. The WNBA Finals will also be a seven-game series for the first time in history, while the three-game first-round will now have a 1-1-1 format, allowing each team to play at least one home game.
Bueckers bump: There may be no one in sports who can replicate the star power of Clark, but 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers has the chance to still provide another lift for the league and bring more attention to the Dallas Wings.

Looming over the entire WNBA season is the CBA negotiations between the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. The players are expecting larger contracts next season, and a work stoppage is possible if the two sides don’t agree to a deal.

“I feel really good that we’ll get something transformational done,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said on The Bill Simmons Podcast on Wednesday. “The players will posture in the media … but we’re not going to negotiate in the media, we’re going to negotiate around the table.”

SPONSORED BY E*TRADE FROM MORGAN STANLEY

Carolyn Tisch Blodgett’s Playbook for the Future of Sports

In Episode 5 of Portfolio Players, presented by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, Gotham FC governor and former Peloton exec Carolyn Tisch Blodgett unpacks how sports are becoming a digital-first business—and why that’s a good thing.

From leading Gotham FC to advising the New York Giants, Tisch Blodgett breaks down the Peloton-inspired playbook she’s now applying to sports: one built around creators, brand loyalty, and fast-moving investment.

She also discusses how women’s sports are setting new standards, how leagues like TGL are moving faster by design, and why sports fandom today is more global and digital than ever.

Catch the episode to hear why capital, culture, and community are the new pillars of ownership—and how sports remain one of the most unifying forces in the world.

Valkyries Want to Be World’s Top Women’s Sports Team

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Golden State Valkyries have yet to play a regular-season game yet and the team’s expectations couldn’t be higher.

“We want to be the most successful women’s sports organization in the world,” team president Jess Smith recently said on the Front Office Sports show Redefined.

The Valkyries, the WNBA’s first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008, will open their inaugural regular season Friday in San Francisco against the Los Angeles Sparks. Since Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob paid $50 million for the team in September 2023, the Valkyries amassed more than 15,000 season-ticket deposits in 2024 and sold merchandise to all 50 states.

Now the franchise will try to see its success translate to the court, which is easier said than done for expansion teams. The Vegas Golden Knights were the rare expansion team to make the Stanley Cup Final in its first season, but they are the exception, not the rule.

“Part of the Golden State mindset and legacy is we want to be the best at everything we do on and off the court,” Smith said. “From Day 1, Joe Lacob was like, ‘We will win a championship in five years.’ Before we had anything. He said that before I was hired, before we had a general manager. That group likes to win and wants to win. That’s who they are.”

Smith said part of the Valkyries’ approach has been to account for both men and women when building the team’s brand.

“I think for so long, one of the things people have assumed about women’s sports is that it is a women’s product for women,” Smith said. “When in fact the audience is 50% men and 50% women. … The audience scope is actually much bigger than people have assumed all along.”

WNBA GMs on Unprecedented 2025 Sprint, What’s Next

David Butler II-Imagn Images

The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement uncertainty has created a nearly unprecedented challenge for the league’s 13 teams, most of which had to build teams for 2025 without much clarity on what they would look like in 2026.

Front Office Sports spoke with 10 of the 13 teams to find out.

The teams broadly fall into three categories: a quartet of teams with legitimate championship aspirations, six teams trying to establish a culture and continuity, and three in some state of rebuilding.

Win Now: Liberty, Lynx, Fever, and Aces

These four teams are clearly a cut above the rest of the league. They have realistic title hopes and strong cores; three of them are built around stars who will be free agents and would devastate their teams by leaving.

“I actually don’t think it’s going to be as chaotic as maybe some would like it to be,” Minnesota Lynx coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve told FOS. “If you look at the amount of change that occurred this year, I don’t think a lot of those players made choices to be a one-year story.”

For the New York Liberty, the three stars anchoring the team’s success are Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones. The Lynx unquestionably are being led by MVP candidate Napheesa Collier. For the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark—who the team is not at risk of losing to free agency because she will still be on her rookie scale contract—is at the center of the franchise’s championship future. Three-time MVP A’ja Wilson is the Las Vegas Aces’ key to maintaining their status as a title contender.

For the Liberty, Lynx, and Aces, their stars will all be unrestricted free agents after the Finals. By this standard, the Fever are in the best position heading into 2026. Not only will they have Clark under contract, but 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston will be on the final season of her rookie scale contract.

“It’s about focusing on what we can control,” Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb said. “We’re continuing to focus on making this a player-first organization. We want to partner with our players.”

To read more about the upcoming season, how a new CBA could upend the league’s power hierarchy, and where each franchise falls, read Annie Costabile’s full story here.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS NETWORK

He Built Vitaminwater and Is Now Taking on Nike

Billionaire entrepreneur Mike Repole—the mind behind Vitaminwater, BodyArmor, and now NoBull—joins Adam Breneman for one of the most raw and inspiring conversations we’ve had on Next Up. From growing up in Queens as the son of a waiter and a seamstress to selling companies for billions, Repole shares the unfiltered truth about what it takes to win—in business, in sports, and in life.

He opens up about his deep love for St. John’s basketball—the program that shaped his roots—and why he’s gone all in to help rebuild it into a national powerhouse with Rick Pitino at the helm. From NIL deals to the business of college sports, he breaks down why St. John’s success means so much more than just wins.

Watch the full Next Up episode here.

ONE BIG FIG

Outpacing the Pacers

The Indianapolis Star

$149

The average purchase price for Indiana Fever tickets for the 2025 season, according to TickPick. That number is 107% more expensive than the average price for Pacers tickets this season ($72) and even more expensive than the average price for the Pacers through the first two rounds of the playoffs ($131).

The get-in price for the Fever’s opener against the Chicago Sky on Saturday is $85, and the average purchase price is $210.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS HONORS

Is Your Team Award-Worthy?

The Most Innovative Teams Award will recognize sports organizations revolutionizing the fan-team relationship through innovative, personalized, and multidimensional engagement.

They’re the teams breaking new ground in fan connection—both digitally and in person—by championing their players, embracing diverse fan identities and fluid fandom, and leveraging their platforms and partnerships to leave a positive impact on the communities they represent and serve.

Nominations for Most Innovative Teams will be evaluated on areas including fan experiences, partnerships, athlete resources, and data and analytics.

Think your team deserves to be recognized? Nominate them now before prices increase on May 26.

Conversation Starters

New York Jets first-round pick Armand Membou said he “didn’t realize” just how much money he was about to make until he signed his four-year, $31.9 million deal. Check it out.
Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian has expanded his portfolio after securing a stake in Chelsea FC Women. Take a look at his growing portfolio.
Charles Barkley said he’s donated more money to his alma mater, Auburn—legal or illegal—than any other athlete in the history of the school. Watch it here.