SBJ Unpacks: The WNBA turns 30 riding massive momentum

Tonight in Unpacks: The WNBA enters its 30th campaign when action tips off May 8. It’s been a slow-but-meteoric rise for the league, as SBJ’s Tom Friend chronicles how the league got off the ground, avoided a potential embarrassment on its first night and where it’s going in this early look at next week’s magazine.

Also tonight:

• Sabres eye ‘top half’ NHL revenue rank following playoff return
• Kentucky Derby unveils brand deals
• F1 Miami GP sponsors debut products, campaigns
• Twin Cities leading pack for 2028 NFL Draft

Listen to SBJ’s most popular podcast, Morning Buzzcast, where Abe Madkour closes the week with the Kentucky Oaks running on a Friday night as Churchill Downs attempts to build a bigger megaphone for the Derby, the F1 financial powerhouse that’s the Miami Grand Prix, the Twin Cities having the inside track for hosting the 2028 NFL Draft and more.

The WNBA is turning 30, but the first 30 seconds of its existence set the tone. The New York Liberty were playing at the Los Angeles Sparks, on June 21, 1997, at a place called the Fabulous Forum, in front of a crowd dying for equality. Then Jerry Buss showed up.

He was there with his harem, his top three shirt buttons missing, his combover glistening, in a Forum Club that reeked of cigarette smoke and Dior Dune. An hour before tipoff, in walked Val Ackerman, the former University of Virginia basketball star handpicked by NBA Commissioner David Stern to oversee the WNBA’s day-to-day. And Day 1 was supposed to be perfect.

Buss, the Lakers and Sparks owner, couldn’t have reveled more in the moment. He predicted a league full of superstars who’d sell out arenas, film Gatorade commercials and rake in maybe million-dollar salaries some far-off day in the future.

“And oh, by the way, Val, I want to introduce you to Miss April,” Buss said. “She’ll be singing the national anthem.”

For those who witnessed it — such as Rick Welts, former NBA executive vice president and CMO — all color escaped Ackerman’s face. It was going to be over before it started, this league that would redefine women’s sports, that would be “a cause,” that would change the narrative that men had pro basketball all to themselves. Their mantra was supposed to be “We Got Next,” not "We Got Miss April."

“It wasn’t exactly the image we were trying to project this league to be, so Val and I retreated somewhere in the bowels of the Forum and called, as always, the fixer, Russ Granik,” Welts said, referencing the NBA’s deputy commissioner. “And I don’t know what Russ did in the ensuing hour, but Miss April did not end up singing the national anthem.”

So, from Day 1 to this year’s season opener on Day 10,549, the WNBA has always fought for its voice, an appropriate voice, and is now pitch perfect entering its 30^th season. There are franchise valuations at roughly half-a-billion-dollars (the Liberty) and an 11-year, $3.1 billion media rights deal that puts weekend games on NBC, ABC and CBS. There’s a rich collective-bargaining agreement, max salaries of $1.4 million, better average ratings than the NHL and expansion that will boost the league to an all-time-high 18 teams by the end of the decade. Imagine where it is by the 2040s.

“I’ve only been around since 2007,” said Dallas Wings CEO and Managing Partner Greg Bibb. “But I always call the WNBA the 30-year overnight sensation.”

The league will spend this season celebrating that stark journey, with a media campaign highlighting 30 of the WNBA’s most venerable moments over three decades. Phil Cook, the WNBA’s CMO, called the anniversary “marketing gold,” and has asked every team to nominate a signature memory. But here are eight other business moments that could sum up the rise, fall, teeter and rise again of the longest-tenured women’s sports league in the U.S.:

1) The 1996 Olympics test case. The NBA bankrolled USA Basketball’s ’96 national team to see if it could win gold in Atlanta, captivate the country and drum up interest for a WNBA. “We could use that as a lab,” Ackerman said. Behind Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo, the U.S. women dominated, and Ackerman said Stern would joke he had the WNBA business plan in his front desk drawer, just waiting to unveil it. But Welts said Stern wouldn’t greenlight the league unless his friend and associate at NBC, Dick Ebersol, would televise it. “And Ebersol was like, ‘We’re in if you guys decide to do this,’” Welts said. NBC ended up doing Saturdays, ESPN did Mondays and Lifetime Fridays.

2) Lifetime? Yes, Lifetime, even though it had never televised live sports. “I remember being in a league meeting and they asked what we were thinking,” said then-Lifetime Vice President Brian Donlon. “I said, “Well, we’re going to do a talk show with a basketball game playing in the background.’ And I thought their heads were going to explode.”

3) Speaking of that front desk drawer. Stern laid out a single-entity business model in which the NBA owned all eight of the inaugural franchises. Individual team owners operated the clubs, never paying a franchise fee or player salary. Their main job was to pick a name analogous to their NBA team (i.e. Rockets/Comets, Suns/Mercury). But Johnny Buss, Jerry’s son, didn’t want to name the Lakers’ W team the Oceans — and randomly chose Sparks.

The idea was to ride the NBA’s coattails. Stern created “ambush-proof packages” in which if the league signed with Coca-Cola, no team or player could do a deal with Pepsi. Stern technically didn’t strong-arm the existing NBA sponsors, other than to say, “If you want to be part of the NBA, we’d really like you to be part of the WNBA, too.” But it was essentially the equivalent of: Buy one (the NBA), get one (the W) free. Sears, GM, Anheuser-Busch and Lee Jeans were among those who obliged, and the W earned about $30 million that first year in sponsorships.

TV revenue lagged slightly behind. The networks weren’t paying rights fees, simply sharing ad revenue with the league. Still, NBC did a 1.9 rating that first year and averaged 2 million households, with 12 games drawing at least 1 million viewers. On cable, ESPN did only a 0.8 rating, Lifetime just a 0.5 — maybe because everyone was going to games. Average attendance that first season was a fabulous 10,000. “The curiosity factor,” Welts said. “But we made so many mistakes.”

4) Who wants in? They went too fast, too soon. The league expanded to 10 teams in Year 2, 12 teams in Year 3 and 16 in Year 4. “It was the early success, which made owners say, ‘Hey, I’d like one of these,’” Ackerman said. With Magic/Miracle, Heat/Sol, Hornets/Sting, Pistons/Shock, Kings/Monarchs, Timberwolves/Lynx, it was still largely a brother-sister template — the idea being men would fill the arena in the winter, women in the summer. They also had the right kind of anthem singers now (Whitney Houston at the ’99 All-Star Game at MSG), and Stern began peddling teams to NBA owners for about $10 million or less, loosening sales restrictions and allowing them to sell against national sponsors. Players — whose max salary that first season was $50,000 — wanted more of the pie and formed a union. The W’s mantra was to be the fifth major league, behind the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Then reality kicked in.

5) Who wants out? Originally, NBA owners were only paying for player housing. Now, they were responsible for the kitchen sink: salaries, arena bills, sponsorships. Houston was the microcosm. Winners of the league’s first four titles, the Comets had just two ticket staffers; the Rockets, 22. In December of ’08, the Comets folded and former Liberty star Lobo remembers thinking the league was going under, too. “Owners were, ‘Nice try guys, but it’s time to put up the white flag here,’” Welts said. “And Stern just absolutely refused to do it.’”

6) Golden State. The Rockers had folded in Cleveland, too, because they wanted to concentrate on some rookie named LeBron James. The Bulls’ Jerry Reinsdorf and the Mavericks’ Mark Cuban told Stern no thank you. But the one that had everyone shaking their heads was the Warriors, whose owner Chris Cohan could not be persuaded. In a no-brainer, inclusive market that adored Stanford women’s basketball, there should have been a team in the Bay Area, as broadcaster and former Laker Mychal Thompson suggested, called the “the Warri-hers.” But a hard no.

7) Saviors. Money — or sponsorships — talks. The league still had a million-dollar deal with Discover Card and a multimillion, multiyear deal with AOL. “I mean, there were people there pushing the envelope and supporting,” said former W President Donna Orender. “But it was hard-fought to get there.” Social media talks, too — actually, it screams — and Instagram’s launch in 2010 further helped the cause. From 2010-24, the W settled into a comfortable 12 teams. But the true turnaround might have been the Wubble in 2020, during the pandemic, when sequestered fans at home were dying for live sports — and stumbled again on the W, stumbled on Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and the champion Storm. “And then who would’ve guessed someone like Caitlin Clark would come along?” Orender said.

8) G.O.A.T.s. As part of the 30-year celebration, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s league will unveil throwback uniforms for select games involving the Liberty, Mercury and Sparks — three of the original franchises — using a 1997-branded ball. Another anniversary plan is a brand campaign with Swoopes leading a pack of G.O.A.T.s (and actual goats) through the streets of New York.

Speaking of brands, the WNBA is brimming with them. The newest two this season are Procter & Gamble and Mars, making it 13 total sponsors with no ties to the NBA: Ally Financial, Delta, Deloitte, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bumble, Coach, Mielle, State Street Investment Management, Spy, Skechers and Reebok. No more buy one, get one free.

All the league’s wishes — and Jerry Buss’ premonitions — have seemingly come true. There are Gatorade commercials (see Clark), roughly 30 players making million-dollar-plus salaries, sold-out buildings.

And the No. 1 grossing team in the league on Day 10,549 happens to be …

Golden State. You can’t make this stuff up.

After 14 years of futility, it took just four months of winning hockey for the Buffalo Sabres to reengage their long-suffering fan base and jump-start their business.

When the Sabres fired general manager Kevyn Adams in December, the team was tied for last place in the Eastern Conference, and the longest playoff drought in North American sports seemed poised to continue. The organization hadn’t averaged 16,000 fans per game at KeyBank Center since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and consistently ranked among the NHL’s lowest-revenue franchises.

Now, with the Sabres back in the playoffs for the first time since 2011, that outlook has shifted.

“This team can perform from a revenue perspective in the top half of the league, which I think is saying a lot considering we’re one of the smallest markets. That’s where we’re trending right now,” said Pete Guelli, Sabres and Buffalo Bills president of business operations. The median revenue for NHL teams is in the mid-$200 million range, excluding playoffs.

The Sabres finished the regular season with 18 consecutive sellouts of 19,070, ending the season with an average of 17,853 fans per game. Local viewership on MSG Networks increased by 31% year over year, giving the team the best mark among U.S.-based teams this season.

The sale of individual tickets, which were available in large quantities due to erosion of their season-ticket base over the prior few years, increased 82% from the 2024-25 season. The team also sold a record number of partial packages, resulting in a 56% year-over-year jump.

Tickets for home playoff games have also sold out within minutes, with resale prices among the highest in the NHL postseason. In-game spending also has surged, with retail and concessions both growing by double digits from last season.

Looking ahead, the Sabres are already nearing 4,000 new full-season ticket holders for next season. For reference, Guelli said the team with the biggest increase in the NHL last offseason added 2,500. He expects the Sabres will cap full-season sales at 13,000 for 2026-27 and introduce a waitlist this summer.

“I’ve been doing this longer than I want to admit, and I haven’t seen this kind of reaction from fans and this kind of growth no matter what kind of situation it’s been in, what kind of performance,” said Guelli, who previously worked for the New York Giants and Charlotte Hornets after an earlier stint with the Bills. “Clearly, there was this latent demand.”

Sabres leadership also expects a sponsorship windfall, with Guelli forecasting a 30% revenue increase and around 10 new sponsors in place by the start of next season. Bills sponsors typically have the opportunity to extend their sponsorship to include the Sabres before the NHL team offers the rights to other brands in a given category.

The Sabres have struggled in recent years to command significant value in major categories and secure long-term commitments, prompting Guelli to change the team’s approach in anticipation of an eventual turnaround.

“I said, ‘Let’s just do shorter-term deals. And when we start to show people how the building is operating and how the team is operating, then we’ll go back out,’” Guelli said. “It’s put us in this real advantageous position when we’re out for renewals, because obviously the leverage has changed drastically.”

The top priority is securing the Sabres’ first jersey patch sponsors, something Chief Commercial Officer Jake Vernon has been focused on since joining the organization a year ago. The team could add at least one jersey sponsor — for either its home or road jerseys — during the current playoffs, and expects to have both in place by the start of next season.

Vernon said the Sabres also are looking to fill or optimize key categories this offseason, such as spirits and automotive. The newfound on-ice success has expanded their pool of prospective sponsors.

“The thing that the success has done for us now is we’re able to expand our reach into more of a national, and potentially even a global, opportunity,” Vernon said.

While the Sabres’ business rejuvenation is driven by sudden on-ice improvement, Guelli said a series of moves over the past two years have prepared the organization for this moment. These include a five-year lease extension, 10-year naming-rights renewal and upgrades to KeyBank Center, including a new audio system and frictionless security and concessions technology.

For Buffalo, the Sabres’ sudden emergence as a contender has the potential to usher in a new golden age.

This year is the first time in a quarter-century — and first under the ownership of Terry Pegula — that both the Sabres and Bills have qualified for their respective postseasons. The Bills are slated to open a new $2.2 billion stadium this fall, while the Sabres are pursuing a $400 million renovation of KeyBank Center.

“When you see them both performing at that level, it’s a very unique place — it’s a special place,” Guelli said.

Eleven brands will enjoy top-tier sponsor status at the Kentucky Derby this weekend, led by a portfolio of familiar faces and new immersive experiences across beauty, food and technology.

Brown-Forman, the event’s longest-tenured sponsor, will continue its legacy of Derby cocktail activations featuring the $5,000 Woodford Reserve Mint Julep at the Woodford Reserve Paddock.

In other activation news this weekend:

• Ford will display a replica of Henry Ford’s historic 1901 race car and its new Bronco Raptor 4600 high-performance off-road truck.
• White Claw and Red Bull return with infield activations.
• L’Oréal Paris debuts as Churchill Downs’ inaugural beauty partner, and is the presenting partner of the “Style under the Spires” fashion contest, in which the winners will receive L’Oreal Paris prizes and tickets to next year’s races.
• Hallmark Channel will promote the Derby Day debut of its “Kentucky Roses” film.
• Graeter’s Ice Cream also makes its Churchill Downs debut, offering samples of Black Raspberry Chip and Backstretch Bourbon Cherry.
• MLB is hosting an interactive pitching station, and the WNBA has a photo area.
• Vineyard Vines has branding on the mobility assistance vehicles.
• Tractor Beverage Company returns with its retrofitted Airstream trailer offering samples of its apple cider vinegar-based sparkling farmer’s tonic, Haymaker.
• Fans also will see Mitsubishi Electric’s new Big Board, which has more than 15,000 square feet of LED display space.

Additionally, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will debut its new brand campaign, “Fast Is In Us,” this weekend.

SBJ recently profiled Churchill Downs and Louisville’s sports business ecosystem.

The Derby airs on NBC and Peacock Saturday, and the 152nd Longines Kentucky Oaks will take place Friday night, broadcast in prime time for the first time ever on NBC and Peacock.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix has turned into an activation cornucopia over its first four years, and that dynamic is showing little signs of disappearing in the event’s fifth running this weekend.

In addition to event organizer South Florida Motorsports holding its first fan fest on South Beach, several teams are also holding free extravaganzas in Miami proper in addition to the activities around Hard Rock Stadium.

• Pernod Ricard’s Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal has teamed with Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc to release a new 16-year-old limited-edition bottle called Chivas Regal 16. The whisky, which Chivas says has notes of mandarin, raisins, honey, cinnamon and toffee, was announced this week and carries a recommended retail price of $69.99 a bottle.
• Montreal-based apparel brand Psycho Bunny is among the clothing companies trying to leverage F1 Miami, working with motorsport commentator Will Buxton (for the third year in a row) and illustrator Davi Augusto on racing-themed T-shirts that are being released around the race. Miami-area stores at Aventura Mall, Dadeland and the Brickell neighborhood started displaying the racing-themed gear Thursday and will have motorsports decor at its stores. Psycho Bunny is also outfitting the employees at the Hard Rock Beach Club at the F1 track for the second consecutive year.
• F1 announced on Thursday that it has added FanDuel as an official betting operator, the first company in the category to be based in the U.S. This is the second betting deal to be announced following an announcement with Betway in March. FanDuel will get access to F1’s proprietary scoring data to help set markets and be integrated into F1’s storytelling around the wagering sector.
• Marvel Entertainment has a new licensing deal with Atlassian Williams F1 Team to make a one-off comic book about the F1 team’s drivers and principal in a fictional battle against Doctor Doom, with it going on sale at comic book shops across the U.S. this fall. Marvel will activate this weekend with pre-ordering opportunities, a mural and a Marvel cover social photo opportunity at Williams’ fan zone. The cover imagery is also displayed at Williams’ garage space in the F1 Miami paddock.
• Red Bull is using its B team in F1, Visa Cash App RB, to promote one of its drinks. The team’s cars and apparel this weekend are all yellow to advertise the Red Bull Summer Edition Sudachi Lime drink, with the can also displayed around the team’s garage area in the paddock.
• Sunglasses brand Ray-Ban is launching a Miami edition pair of shades as part of its sponsorship deal with Scuderia Ferrari. The RM2228M sunglasses will cost $305 and feature a two-tone lens with blue and yellow coloring as a nod to the sunshine the city is known for.
• Nestle’s Italian sparkling water brand, Sanpellegrino, is using its sponsorship with Scuderia Ferrari to help launch new retail labels that have thought-provoking questions on them. The brand recorded a dinner that driver Lewis Hamilton had with three of his friends as they gave their answers to the questions, which are meant to generate conversation at the dinner table. The limited-edition bottles will start being sold globally through the rest of 2026.
• Jack Daniel’s says it has created its most limited edition in its history as part of its sponsorship of McLaren Mastercard F1 Team. The $599.99 Halo MK1 Tennessee Whiskey comes in a case modeled after the halo of F1 cars with materials like alloy metal and carbon fiber. It’s 58.7% ABV.

Numerous sources familiar with the NFL’s thinking consider Minneapolis-St. Paul a clear favorite to win hosting rights to the 2028 NFL Draft. The NFL’s events committee is scheduled to meet next week to discuss the matter, with an ownership vote expected at their May 19-20 meeting in Orlando.

In March, the Vikings and Minnesota Sports and Events announced a bid, with a plan that would make U.S. Bank Stadium the center of the draft weekend, with events also in St. Paul, the Mall of America and the Viking Lakes development around the team’s Eagan HQ. While NFL officials believe the modern Draft is best suited for cities without Super Bowl aspirations, and Minneapolis has hosted two Super Bowls before, nobody expects a third in the foreseeable future. The Vikings and NFL declined to comment.

Also, sources said, it’s possible the NFL looks to award two drafts at the same time, or in relatively short order. If that happens, some sources said Cincinnati has the inside track for 2029, but there is less clarity around whether the NFL is prepared to do that now. Commissioner Roger Goodell told Pat McAfee last week “we’re going to probably have to start allocating the drafts a little further in advance” due to the event’s size. Nothing is final, sources cautioned, and the Minnesota selection could still change in the weeks before a vote.

The traveling NFL Draft routinely draws hundreds of thousands of fans to a free, festival-like environment that comes at an opportune time for weather in most of the country, making it an ideal platform for civic promotion. It’s also a highly flexible event, capable of being customized to lots of stadium area and civic footprints. Ten teams had representatives at last weekend’s Draft in Pittsburgh to learn and develop their own hopes of hosting, Goodell said.

The only future draft with an identified host is 2027, when the Commanders and D.C., will host on the National Mall. Along with Washington, Minneapolis and Cincinnati, seven other cities participated in that meeting Goodell referenced: Baltimore, Buffalo, Charlotte, Houston, Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Seattle. However, neither Charlotte nor Jacksonville could host in 2028 due to major renovation projects at their respective stadiums.

• A day after its acquisition of OTT platform ViewLift, DAZN confirmed it wants to house the NBA’s local broadcast streaming hub in what could become a billion-dollar bidding war between multiple digital outlets, writes SBJ’s Tom Friend: DAZN, Amazon and YouTube.
• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund plans to keep investing in sports, and sources expect the PIF to make multiple sports-related announcements in the coming weeks, even as it halts its funding of LIV Golf at the end of 2026, reports SBJ’s Josh Carpenter.
• MVP Sports Group and Beverly Hills Sports Council merged to form EVOLV Sports Management, a player representation firm launching with more than $6 billion in negotiated player contracts, such as those of Padres 3B Manny Machado and RF Fernando Tatis Jr. and Astros LF Yordan Álvarez, reports SBJ’s Irving Mejia-Hilario.
• Marshall is the first Sun Belt Conference school to agree to a corporate jersey patch sponsorship, signing a five-year deal with Marshall Health Network, a source tells SBJ’s Ben Portnoy.
• Apollo Sports Capital, Apollo Global Management’s sports-focused fund, is leading a $225 million investment into Pickleball Inc., which will combine its pickleball retail, software, media and construction assets with the pro-level PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, notes SBJ’s Rob Schaefer.
• The Premier League’s Aston Villa reached a 12-year deal with Sports Illustrated Tickets, making it the club’s “official fan experience sponsor,” reports SBJ’s Ethan Joyce.
• Tampa Sports Authority’s gross profit from hosting an NHL Stadium Series game between the Lightning and Bruins at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1 was an estimated $875,000, notes SBJ’s Bret McCormick.