To understand the WNBA’s position, just look around — Karen Aston talks UTSA basketball

Basketball Wednesday

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Ultimately, the only thing that could stop this momentum now — and having spoken to multiple sources in the room, it doesn’t sound like that’s where we’re headed here — is if Terri Jackson and the WNBPA decide not to take the massive increase in salaries. The money has always been the thing this time around, as Alexa Philippou’s excellent, detailed reporting made clear: many quality of life issues have barely come up. Not even prioritization!

That there remains a sizable gap between the percentage rise in max salaries, rookie scale salaries and the salary cap is a problem that veteran players are going to have to navigate in the coming years even more than during the life of the last CBA. But it is in the interest of the WNBA to push that top line for salaries as high as it can go, and that’s in the best interest of most of the loudest voices in the PA, too.

Again: nothing done. But if this reaches the finish line, it is hard not to compare this outcome against some of the most breathless reporting about Cathy Engelbert’s supposed failures (too busy making the league money to call people?!?) and wonder exactly what the fuss was all about. And I’m sure we’ll hear exactly the same level of vitriol directed at the MLB commissioner who just cost his league $1 billion this week.

Speaking of MLB: it’s hard not to think of this shotgun second marriage of an MLB-ESPN media deal when evaluating exactly how ESPN, the TV partner for both MLB and the WNBA for much of both leagues’ offerings over the next few summers, will promote and prioritize its two biggest summer properties. ESPN is vastly smaller than it was, but it is still ESPN, and we have seen what it means for a league when ESPN de-prioritizes it — just ask the WNBA, say, 5-10 years ago. As one WNBA executive put it to me, the worse things get between MLB and ESPN, the more next summer feels like an opportunity for the WNBA.

I agree, and it also serves as a reminder that while the WNBA’s new media rights deal was a win in overall revenue — though there are some critics who think the league settled for less than it could have gotten, at a valuation of $200 million per season for the ESPN portion of its television offerings — it also maintained real estate on the most-trafficked sports network.

Contrast that with Major League Soccer, which is so happy with its current television deal with Apple TV, it buried news of the massive changes to it within the day the league announced it was moving from a summer to a winter schedule.

But don’t miss this. The league silo’d itself on Apple TV+ with a separate subscription, and it went so poorly, both the length of the deal and the structure of how people watch has changed just three years into the new agreement. As we talked about here back in 2022, the WNBA needed to balance exposure with payout.

By any measure, MLS didn’t do this. Now it has until just 2029 to build audience and the value of its media rights deal in the marketplace with an exclusive partner who just showed its commitment to the league by racing towards an early exit to its deal with MLS.

But it appears the WNBA is on the cusp of providing itself with both a perch on ESPN which will allow it to serve as a bigger priority, sell ancillary programming to outlets like USA Sports (broadcast by Kate Scott, no less!) to add to its exposure and coffers, and collectively produce enough money to make an offer that has the WNBPA on the cusp of agreeing to long-term labor peace.

I can only assume, any day now, we’ll hear Leo Messi call for Don Garber’s firing. Meanwhile, here’s Rob Manfred asserting that he knew prop bets were a problem “from the beginning” but didn’t do anything about them until multiple MLB players were indicted for fixing elements of MLB games. But tell me more about how being too busy getting big-money buy-in for a WNBA that struggled to do so for decades to build relationships is an unforgivable offense.

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This week in women’s basketball

Jane Burns on Audi Crooks.

The great Jackie Powell reports on UConn’s pursuit of a repeat.

About that: Maggie Vanoni discusses the impact of Bianca Quinonez.

Tyler Byrum and Emily Adler discuss 2026 WNBA Draft prospects.

And congratulations to our minority partner, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, for a huge year in ratings for both the Washington Mystics and Washington Spirit.

Finally, much more to come on the WPBL Draft tomorrow night — watch it here! — but in the meantime, enjoy the stylings of Emma Baccellieri writing on Mo’ne Davis.

Five at The IX: Karen Aston, UTSA

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