Doubts about professional women’s athletics have plagued the WNBA from its inception three decades ago; however, the league’s financial future in 2026 bears no resemblance to that of a financially troubled entity.

It all comes down to the value of teams. Today, a typical WNBA franchise commands $460 million in value, and the Golden State Valkyries, an expansion franchise, has already topped $1 billion.

Values of the franchises went up by 180 percent annually, which is the biggest increase ever seen by any major sports league in one season.

This increase explains why people are willing to pay so much just for an opportunity to get into the league. The expansion cost for Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia was $250 million per franchise, which is substantially higher than the $50 million Toronto paid.

Media rights follow suit. In a deal that is worth $2.2 billion for 11 years, the league partnered with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime, increasing their annual media rights income from about $60 million to $200 million.

Along with other deals, they have an annual media rights income of about $281 million, which is a 6.5-times increase from the past.

Viewership backs up the investment. The draft peaked at 1.79 million viewers, regular season cable broadcasts averaged around 1 million, and marquee postseason games reached as high as 1.9 million.

Fans also logged over 220 million hours of WNBA content, while teams like the Indiana Fever averaged more than 17,000 fans per game.

The stability of the labor force came after the financial success. The WNBA, along with the players' association, reached an oral agreement on signing a new CBA, which will ensure a salary cap of $7 million with players getting almost 20% of the revenue.

This growth has found its platform, as the brightest stars in the league face off against each other in Chicago.

Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers to Lead Rival Squads at 2026 WNBA All-Star Game

WNBA All-Star Game teams have been drafted by honorary general managers Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon through a draft that was held on July 15.

Team Weatherspoon will be captained by Caitlin Clark, whereas rookie Paige Bueckers will captain Team Cooper at the game slated for July 25.

Clark earned her third straight All-Star start, a selection the league confirmed on July 2 alongside ten other players chosen by fans, players and media.

A coin toss determined which team Clark and Bueckers, the two top vote-getters, would each lead, before Cooper and Weatherspoon filled out the rest of the rosters themselves.

The draft has already stirred things up on the competitive side. Several teammates now find themselves lined up against each other, including Indiana's Clark and Kelsey Mitchell.

Both general managers had a chance to swap players between rosters once the draft wrapped up, but neither GM pulled the trigger. That decision locked the rosters in exactly as drafted, setting up several teammates to face off.

Comment down which squad you think takes the win, Team Clark or Team Bueckers.

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Written by

Utsav Gupta

Edited by

Utsav Gupta