South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been around women’s basketball long enough to see the growing pains of a fledgling WNBA league slowly translate into increased interest in the sport at all levels.
“We’re probably bursting at the seams for the people who are the decision makers in our game to be just that,” said Staley, who led the Gamecocks to their second women’s hoops title this year.
The popularity of women’s sports has grown steadily in recent years, but 2022 marked a significant moment as several sports saw increases in viewership and ratings, sponsorship deals and prime-time coverage.
This past WNBA regular season was the most watched since 2006. Storylines abounded as the league struggled with the arrest of Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner and the retirement of one of the league’s most popular players in the Seattle Storm. . Point guard Sue Bird.
According to ESPN, which aired 25 regular-season games and the entire postseason, the 2022 playoffs averaged 456,000 viewers — up 22% over the 2021 postseason — making it the most-watched WNBA postseason since 2007. the most since Diana Taurasi was the top choice in 2004.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said her league and the women’s college game build on each other.
Engelbert said the NCAA Women’s Tournament, which had the most-watched championship game in nearly two decades, built momentum for the women heading into the WNBA season. Now she wants to see how far this growth can go.
“I’m never satisfied,” Engelbert said. “My team is like ‘Ask more.’ “When you’re in hyper-growth mode, that’s how you have to do it. We don’t rest. We have to take advantage of the momentum when you have it. … You also have to keep pushing.
“We are underinvested and undervalued.”
The league has a deal with ESPN/ABC until 2025, where the company paid the WNBA $27 million in 2021 and $28.5 million this past season. That number will increase $1.5 million per season until it reaches $33 million in 2025.
At the collegiate level, Division I football players continue to exponentially out-earn athletes in all other sports. But name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have been a game changer for female collegiate athletes, especially in non-revenue producing sports. The NIL allows the women to take advantage of large social media followings and earn sponsorships with brands such as Champs and Adidas.
Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU, has over 8 million followers across all of her social media platforms, more than any other female collegiate athlete. Their sponsorships include deals with clothing brand Vuori and American Eagle.
From the July 2021 start of the NIL to November, women’s sports occupied six of the top 10 highest-earning sports by NIL compensation, according to NIL technology and marketing firm Opendorse.
“Student-athletes are using social media to build their own audience, which drives more interest and tuning into their sport,” said Blake Lawrence, CEO at Opendorse. “The industry feeds off … the more marketable the female athletes, the more engaged their audience, the more engaged the audience becomes, the more marketable the athletes.”
Women’s football also enjoyed a boost in 2022.
The sport has seen increased global revenue from sponsorships and broadcast deals, according to a survey by FIFA, the sport’s governing body. In an October report, the organization found that clubs reported year-on-year commercial revenue growth of 33% – indicating growing interest from sponsors; 77% of leagues had a title sponsor in 2021, up from 66% the previous year.
That structural growth has been coupled with unprecedented overall interest in the game.
An August friendly between the United States and England at Wembley sold out in one day and drew nearly 78,000 fans. That was after 87, 192 people saw England beat Germany 2-1 in the EC final. It was the biggest turnout for an EC match, men’s or women’s.
“The number and types of different platforms that highlight women’s sports, not just women’s soccer, it just shows in general that there is interest,” said Kate Markgraf, general manager of the US Women’s National Team.
In the United States, the National Women’s Soccer League has seen a surge in popularity amid a league-wide abuse scandal.
In August, an independent investigation commissioned by US Soccer found that emotional abuse and sexual abuse were systemic in its pro league, affecting multiple teams, coaches and players.
Still, the NWSL title game on Oct. 29 averaged 915,000 viewers on CBS in prime time, a league record.
As the sport gains global momentum ahead of next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, US, Markgraf expects this year’s trend to continue for the foreseeable future, and she wants the success and popularity of women’s soccer to affect fans personally.
“When you go to a game and you watch it, it’s like, hmm, and you get changed,” she said. “And the more often they happen, the longer they resonate. … That’s the goal of US soccer, is to be one of the preeminent sports in our country.
