WNBA Tops Revenue Growth Chart Among Major Sports Leagues In 2026

The 2026 season came into the limelight for the CBA deals and the massive salary that the players will be getting post-new agreement. While a Nobel prize-winning economist deserves much credit for the CBA formulation and a 400% raise in the salaries, there is no denying that the league’s growth plays a major part in the discussion.

While the massive ticket sale, merchandise sale, and arena shifts hinted at a massive surge in the WNBA’s growth, a recent chart also showed booming business for the ‘W’, which is outpacing its parent owners – the NBA.

WNBA Leads Growth Chart Among Major Leagues

The essence of the new CBA deal was the amount of money the league was making against the amount of money they are spending on the players and facilities. The mega broadcasting and sponsorship deals improved the inflow for the league, which, in turn, allowed better spending power.

Now, a recent study showed the league valuation at $427 million and its revenue $31.5 million, giving them a 13.6 value-to-revenue multiplier, which is the highest among the major leagues.

👀 The @WNBA now has the HIGHEST value-to-revenue multiplier of ANY major sports league.

At 13.6, the W surpasses the @NBA for the first time in the history of the league. Business is booming 💣 pic.twitter.com/5d53FeHzxi

— Sportico (@Sportico) May 1, 2026

The NBA comes in second with a 13.5 value-to-revenue multiplier, which is huge given the league’s valuation of $5.5 billion. The NFL comes third with the highest valuation of $7.13 billion and $692 million in revenue.

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The data comprised many other big leagues, including F1, hockey, baseball, and soccer, too, which highlights the massive growth in the WNBA. One thing that already hinted at the higher popularity and fan following was the data that came out in 2025. At the end of the 2025 calendar year,the WNBA dominated yearly online search growth at 140% while outpacing UFC.

With such massive backing, it’s natural that the league is already looking to expand, and now, apart from the USA region, the WNBA is looking to go global in the coming years.

WNBA Aiming For Global Reach

During the 2026 draft, the WNBA commissioner hinted at a major change in the upcoming years. She pointed out the possibility of playing preseason games in foreign lands in the upcoming seasons, which is the first step for the expansion.

Engelbert said, “That will likely begin with some international preseason games, with the long-term goal of bringing regular season games to fans around the world … Expanding our global footprint is a major priority.”

Cathy Engelbert on the WNBA exploring games outside of North America in the future:

"That will likely begin with some international preseason games, with the long-term goal of bringing regular season games to fans around the world … Expanding our global footprint is a major…

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) April 13, 2026

The NBA is also working on a similar project and is happy to add the WNBA to its goal to go global and bring in international audiences to basketball.