WNBA labor strike, alternate league will follow new media rights deal: Bill Simmons

The NBA’s media rights drama likely still has to go to court.

But the WNBA’s portion of that deal , with about $200 million per year — which translates to $2.2 billion out of a $77 billion pie for the NBA — already has some raising their eyebrows.

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is firmly among that crowd, speculating on his podcast that the massive disparity between valuation of the NBA and WNBA will eventually lead to a labor strike, and possibly a competing league forming.

“It’s gonna lead to a labor strike is what’s gonna happen,” Simmons said after his guest, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson, pointed out that average WNBA viewership is not far off NBA numbers — and in the case of games between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, eclipses it. “That’s where we’re headed in the next two years. The thing that I think is gonna happen is I think somebody is gonna try to form an alternate league. Cause it’s not like all of these WNBA players are tied to their teams forever.”

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Forget about forever — it’s long been a norm in women’s basketball that players spend the WNBA offseason playing in Russia, or elsewhere in Europe, where they can get a bigger payday.

(That is why, for example, Britney Griner was in Russia when she was arrested in 2022).

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“If I’m part of a company and I know that I am just as successful and just as lucrative as an employee at some other company who’s making 35 times more than me, why in the world would I stick with that company?” Thompson asked, rhetorically. “It doesn’t make any sense. Of course something is going to happen.”

The WNBA players’ union has already indicated some concern about the disparity, so it’s not far-fetched that there will be something will eventually happen as a result.

“We have wondered for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal,” union executive director Terri Jackson said in a statement after the NBA deals were approved last week. “With a reportedly $75 billion on the table, the league is in control of its own destiny, more precisely, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA.

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“We look forward to learning how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation — if the initial reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that in the last few years, we have seen unprecedented growth across all metrics, the players continue to demonstrate their commitment to building the brand, and that the fans keep showing up. There is no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”

Under their current media deal, which expires concurrently with the NBA after the 2025 season, the WNBA receives about $60 million annually, per the AP.

The NBA is set for a legal battle with Warner Brothers Discovery after denying its matching rights in negotiations.

That notwithstanding, the league has approved an 11-year deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video for its rights.

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