Cam Newton Claims WNBA Will Surpass Baseball's Popularity in Future
There's no denying that the sport of women's basketball had a record-breaking 2024 by any and every metric.
Despite this massive success and growth the sport (particularly the WNBA) has received this year, it still can't compare to the "big three" (football, baseball, and men's basketball) of American sports in terms of popularity at this current moment.
Although that doesn't mean the WNBA can't eventually get big enough to where it surpasses one of these massive sports. In fact, NFL icon Cam Newton asserted that he believes the WNBA will eventually overtake baseball in popularity during a December 19 episode of his "4th&1 with Cam Newton" show.
"It's like, who's really paying attention to baseball? Especially paying attention to baseball in the regular season," Newton said. Can I make a hot take? I think baseball will be surpassed by WNBA in 20 years."
When someone else on the podcast refuted this take by saying baseball has a stronger international presence, Newton said, "The issue with the WNBA is not exposure, but it is the number one issue... They play basketball globally, too. And if they gave the same amount of exposure... they're in dire need of superstars. That's what makes Angel Reese so [important].
"The WNBA needs stars," Newton added.
At another point in the episode, he continued, "Baseball is a dying sport... Baseball isn't even being played by Americans anymore... For those who take offense to it, it's just the truth."
Cam Newton says baseball is a dying sport and thinks the WNBA will surpass it in twenty years.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 26, 2024
(Via: @4thAnd1Show) pic.twitter.com/ltUop3Y7HK
While many women's basketball fans might like hearing this take, Newton's sentiment is also going to ruffle many feathers within the baseball world.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.