Women's Fastbreak On SI

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Asserts Investors Are 'Anxious' for WNBA Involvement

Adam Silver made it clear that the WNBA is a hot commodity right now in the eyes of big-time investors.

Grant Young

Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver arrives prior to the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver arrives prior to the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

At the end of October, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed a report from the New York Post that NBA owners are getting frustrated about the WNBA's financial losses, including $40 million from the 2024 season alone.

"There was a lot of different points in that story so it's hard to say correct or not correct. I would just say the answer is yes," Silver said of the report during an interview with CNBC Sport. "We're working with WNBA owners, WNBA owners that also own NBA teams, and then more broadly the NBA owners on what the right valuation of WNBA teams are going forward, what the best way is to operate that league."

However, while the WNBA is still operating at a financial loss, the league is doing much better than it has ever before. And this is shown by a statement Silver made during a recent Fortune Magazine "Global Forum" event.

"Our phones are ringing off the hook now for people who are anxious to invest in women's sports," Silver said of the WNBA. "I think that... it's not just basketball. We're seeing it across the board in women's sports. I think it's incredibly healthy."

He later added, "What's happened is the traditional gatekeepers who were in the position to say, 'This is what's gonna be carried on our airways, or... in our precious editorial pages', now it's more expansive. And consumers get to decide. And it's not just women, but it's led by women in many cases, that are demonstrating that there's genuine interest in women's sports and the product."

If this WNBA boom increases, the NBA owners (who are therefore also WNBA investors) might become much more optimistic about their shares in the league.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

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