The WNBA Was The Fastest-Growing Brand In Professional Sports In 2024

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 20: Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty and New York Liberty … [+] owner Clara Wu Tsai hoist the WNBA Championship Trophy after defeating the Minnesota Lynx to win Game Five of the WNBA Finals at Barclays Center on October 20, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

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According to a new marketing report, the WNBA was the fastest-growing brand in professional sports in 2024.

After years of languishing at the bottom of sports fan attention, the WNBA has become the fifth most popular professional sport, behind the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, and ahead of the MLS and PGA.

Twenty-six percent of U.S adults identify as avid or casual fans of the WNBA. This represents a sea-change that has been building for years as more and more people have tuned into watch women’s basketball at both the college and professional levels. It’s especially striking in light of the current wave of anti-DEI sentiment when the league has been outspoken about its commitments to gender, racial, and sexual equality and activist in its marketing.

UNCASVILLE, CT – JUNE 17: A general view of the back of a Black Lives Matter t-shirt with social … [+] justice messaging worn by a member of the Seattle Storm during the WNBA game between the Seattle Storm and the Connecticut Sun on June 17,2022, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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According to the report, about half of people in the US identify as avid sports fans, and they are young and diverse. Not surprisingly, significantly more (close to 70%) are men than women.

Avid Women’s Sports Fans Are Engaged

Avid fans of women’s sports are relatively new to sports fandom generally. More than half of WNBA fans have been following the sport for five or fewer years. Avid women’s sports fans are also more likely to be engaged with teams and individual athletes through social media than men’s sports fans. In all sports related accounts—teams, professional athletes, accounts that post professional sports content, professional sports commentators, amateur sports commentators/sports influencers, and partners/spouses of professional athletes—women’s fans were more likely to follow.

Women’s sports fans are more engaged in real life too. They are more likely to go to meetings with other fans, special team events, and player meet and greets. These fans also report purchasing more merchandise, game tickets, and sports-related subscriptions and traveling to sporting events than other fans.

Fans’ Favorite Athlete Is From The WNBA

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JUNE 16: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever drives to the basket against … [+] Marina Mabrey #4 of the Chicago Sky during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 16, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

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When researchers asked fans their favorite athlete, the WNBA’s Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark received more mentions than any other athlete—women or man, including LeBron James, Steph Curry, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Josh Allen. The Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese was also in the Top 5 women athletes mentioned.

Women’s college and professional basketball has tapped into a countercurrent to the political moment that seems to be trying to push women out of leadership and out of public life with its appeal to myths of women’s inferiority and inherent domesticity. The popularity of the WNBA suggests that, in reality, more and more people have begun to see and appreciate women’s strength, athleticism, and appeal.

With off-season trades underway and the WNBA draft coming up soon following another spectacularly competitive season of NCAA women’s basketball, the WNBA should continue to build its brand and its fan base, even while it holds to its commitments to inclusion and equity.

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