Just a few days before the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend kicks off, the league announced partnerships with New Balance and Bumble, adding a pair of high-profile companies and new revenue to the league’s expanding partnership portfolio.
With the multiyear agreement with New Balance, the apparel company joins Adidas, Nike, Puma and Under Armour as partners of the league.
“This relationship with the WNBA is another example of New Balance encouraging all young athletes, particularly women and girls, to pursue their athletic goals and ignite a new era of female empowerment through sport,” Jess Vassall, New Balance head of global partnerships, said in a press release announcing the agreement.
The pact includes an authentic broadcast from New Balance, as well as digital and retail content featuring New Balance athlete and Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink. The second overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft first signed an NIL deal with New Balance in 2023 as their first female basketball player on their roster. She is out for the remainder of the 2024 season due to injury.
“The partnership with New Balance is yet another positive step in our efforts to grow women’s sports across new audiences, incentivize youth participation and positively influence communities,” said WNBA chief growth officer Colie Edison. “By aligning ourselves with a global brand like New Balance, we continue to push the envelope of what’s possible when we tap into the unifying power of sport.”
On July 17, the WNBA announced a multi-year partnership with the women-first dating app, Bumble, to elevate women athletes while promoting equality within sports. This marks the league’s first-ever official dating app partner.
“Partnering with one of the most renowned organizations in women’s sports, the WNBA, is extremely exciting for us and it exemplifies everything Bumble stands for: empowering and spotlighting women’s stories, helping people make connections over shared values and interests, and creating fun and safe experiences to bring our community together offline,” Lidiane Jones, CEO at Bumble, said in a press release. “We know being a sports fan is an important part of who people are and we look forward to celebrating that through this partnership.”
The partnership will commence during the AT&T WNBA All-Star this coming weekend, and will include a role for Bumble as presenting partner of the league’s Orange Carpet at WNBA Live. Bumble will also sponsor behind-the-scenes and in-app content on its app from WNBA players. Fan activations at events, WNBA-themed meetups and experiences for Bumble members like date nights at WNBA games will also be included throughout the partnership.
“Bumble’s history of encouraging and championing women resonates deeply with the core values of the WNBA,” Edison said. “Our partnership with Bumble furthers our shared mission of empowering women, and we look forward to creating impactful, inspiring opportunities focused on the power of connection.”
There is also a Cameron Brink connection here: in March, Brink was added to Bumble’s NIL roster.
“To collaborate alongside a company who centers around women was super important to me. From starting my time with Bumble as a college athlete to now growing with them in the WNBA makes our relationship that much more special,” said Brink. “The first moves Bumble has made in sports over the years are so inspiring and I can’t wait to see the impact their partnership with the WNBA will have on fans everywhere.”
The revenue from new partnerships, alongside a reported new media rights deal, helps frame the economic parameters of an expected upcoming negotiation over the collective bargaining agreement with the Players’ Association, if the WNBPA opts out of the current CBA, as expected, following the 2024 season. That would lead to the end of the current agreement following the 2025 season.
