NEW YORK -- As the WNBA was working through uncertainty on the labor front, it was largely business as usual for the league’s sponsorships team. Typically, WNBA CGO Colie Edison said, most of the league’s sponsorship deals take 12-18 months, from initial conversations to contracts being finalized.
On Monday, the league and Mars announced a multi-year deal, completed in-house, making the M&M’s brand the WNBA’s official chocolate sponsor in a newly created category.
“If you’re in this industry, you know the highs and lows that come with a CBA negotiation,” Edison told SBJ from the site of the 2026 WNBA Draft. “For me, my job was to keep our partners as informed as they needed to be, but also giving them the sense of confidence that this was going to get done. Because we all knew it was going to get done.”
Talks came down to the wire before a new CBA between the union and the league was struck on March 20.
“We were all following the media, but it was my job to keep our partners really just feeling good and confident that something transformational was going to get done,” Edison said. “I’m thankful that we sat there hand and hand. It was a lot of hurry up and wait, and we did that. Now it’s onto the next phase.”
Logos of 13 sponsors were up behind the draft’s stage at The Shed at Hudson Yards in Manhattan. They included the draft’s presenting sponsor, State Street Investment Management SPY, and Coach, which is sponsoring the red carpet.
“It’s only been a couple weeks (after the CBA deal), so right now we’re just needing to execute on all our existing partnerships,” Edison said. “But our new business development team is booked and busy, and I think you’ll even see some upcoming announcements for this season. And then we’re going to be getting ready to bring on partners for the next five seasons. We’re focused on long-term relationships and the value and the entry price is just going up.”
