Reports - WNBA to get $200M per year; union exec concerned - ESPN

The WNBA would receive about $200 million per year as part of the NBA's recently approved media rights deals, according to multiple reports. Even with an annual increase of around $140 million, the new number still concerns the executive director of the WNBA players' union.

Executive director Terri Jackson said in a statement Wednesday that the WNBA is being undervalued at $2.2 billion over 11 years.

«We have wondered for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,» Jackson said. «With a reportedly $75 billion deal on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny. More precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.»

The WNBA's current media deal, which is valued at about $60 million per year, is set to expire after the 2025 season. The NBA, which owns about 60% of the WNBA, has negotiated the new deals.

The NBA's board of governors approved that league's next media rights deals with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video at its meeting Tuesday, moving the league one giant step closer to finalizing the 11-year agreements that will be worth about $76 billion. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league was closing in on a new media rights deal but that other rights needed to be worked out with other partners and that the full deal was not yet finalized.

«We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation — if initial reports are accurate or even close,» Jackson said. «Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that in the last few years, we have seen unprecedented growth across all metrics, the players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building the brand, and that the fans keep showing up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.»

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