The WNBA is currently seeking to reach a deal with the WNBPA, which is maintaining a strong stance on its demands. The WNBPA put forward its non-negotiable demands, which were mostly commercial terms. Nneka Ogwumike and Breanna Stewart pointed out that the league is growing at a higher rate, and players are also entitled to their fair share.
While the league is also looking to maintain its revenue-sharing model and the max pay they can offer, some reports are clearly hampering their efforts to emphasize the league’s poor financial state.
WNBA Takes Pole Position In Global Online Search
The year 2024 has been revolutionary for the league, which raced to the top of popularity growth, both online and offline. The league outperformed all the US’s mega leagues, including the NBA and the NFL, in terms of percentage growth.
In 2026, they retain the top spot as the results of the 2025 season are out. As per the report, the league saw a 140% rise in its searches online, which is much bigger than the other innovative leagues like the FIA World Endurance Championship (up +108%), Ultimate Tennis Showdown (up +106%), and SailGP up (+84%). The UFC also saw its search volume rise, taking fifth place in the ranking. The viewership also saw a 6% increase for the WNBA.
The 2025 WNBA Regular Season was the most watched on ESPN networks ever with an average of 1.3 million viewers across 25 games, up 6% from last season. pic.twitter.com/X9ZZm6U7ZZ
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 12, 2025
With this, the players once again would be in control of the discussion, which already highlighted the league’s increased revenue and their key role in it. While much credit goes to the Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who, according to Greek soccer Star Alexandros Katranis, is a global icon.
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The MLS player highlights Clark’s surprising fame & global reach beyond WNBA. He is not the only one lauding the playmaker, as a WNBA franchise owner also takes pride in having the electrifying star in the league.
WNBA Executive Credits Caitlin Clark For Rise in League’s Popularity
While the players are holding on to the new deals and sponsorships they brought to the league through their gameplay, the league has also shown significant losses to counter their claim. But one thing the league couldn’t deny was the rise in its viewership and popularity.
On the ‘All In’ Podcast, Liberty owner Joe Tsai sees the 2024 rookie as the reason behind the rise in commercial numbers. “Caitlin Clark definitely had an effect on the WNBA. All the metrics went up, so this was last season, right when she first came into the league from college, and we’ve seen all of our metrics from viewership, ticket sales, (and) sponsorship. Everything went up like almost 4x. So the economic impact that she’s made to the league is extraordinary,” he said.
🎥Joe Tsai, owner of the New York Liberty, speaks on Caitlin Clark’s impact & how it benefited the whole WNBA. Her star power brought viewership & revenue by 4X 😲! pic.twitter.com/spvplscXwG
— JMac | Ball Up | 🏀🏈 (@Gameis_gameLFG) February 6, 2026
It is important to note that the Fever star played in just 13 games in the season and still held massive star power to pull the crowd in.