Keeping Up With The WNBA: A FansOnlySportz Special Report

Matt Hylen
Jul 27
6 min read

Updated: Oct 30

Two of the WNBA's biggest stars, Caitlin Clark (left) and Angel Reece (right). C/O to nba.com

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) has risen to new heights once again in 2025. With superstars on and off the court, the league is in a position that it has never been in before. Ratings are skyrocketing, viewership is at an all-time high, and players now have as big a platform as ever to advocate not only for themselves but for women all over America.

But who is responsible for this rise in popularity? How is the league responding and reacting to this drastic growth? What is the current state of the league?

Let's take a closer look.

What Teams are Dominating? Who is Disappointing?

All-Star captain and MVP favorite Naphessa Collier. C/O to lynx.wnba.com

As of July 26, 2025, the team to beat is the Minnesota Lynx, led by superstar 28-year-old Napheesa Collier. Collier, who is averaging 23.1 points (51.9% from the field, 34.1% from three), 7.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, has led her team to an impressive 22-4 record. Their +11.1 point differential is the best in the WNBA by a pretty big margin (next most is +8.1), while winning eight of their last ten games.

Not far behind Minnesota are the defending champion New York Liberty, leading their conference with a 17-6 record. Breanna Stewart (19/6.8/4.0) and Sabrina Ionescu (18.9/4.5/5.8) have been fantastic this year, ensuring that they are still a top duo in the league. With the East being extremely weak overall this season, New York will be the heavy favorites to come out on the other side of the playoff bracket.

In terms of disappointments thus far, the biggest has to be the Las Vegas Aces, who have made the semi-finals or finals the past 5 seasons and are currently sitting at a 12-13 record with a -2.3 point differential. Though they did trade a star in Kelsey Plum in the offseason, the team still has a solid core led by the reigning two-time MVP A'ja Wilson. If Vegas continues this level of mediocrity, they may miss the playoffs for the first time since 2006 when they were still the San Antonio Silver Stars (became the Las Vegas Aces in 2018).

The Caitlin Clark Effect

Caitlin Clark. C/O to basketballnetwork.net

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is not only a WNBA superstar, but she has also become a global sensation. Her exciting style of play and limitless range make her one of the most exciting and promising players the WNBA has ever had. Her popularity and rise to superstardom have been like nothing women's sports have ever seen before, and the numbers are showing that.

In 2024, Caitlin Clark's spectacular rookie season ended with her winning the WNBA Rookie of the Year award. The star point guard for the Indiana Fever received 66 out of 67 first-place votes, with nearly unanimous recognition from sportswriters and broadcasters.

Clark became the third player in Fever history to win the honor, following in the footsteps of Aliyah Boston in 2023 and Tamika Catchings in 2002.

Clark’s debut season was nothing short of historic. Averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, she led all rookies in most statistical categories while setting a new WNBA single-season record with 337 assists.

Clark also became the first WNBA rookie to record a triple-double, accomplishing the feat twice during the season. Her standout performance included a league-record 19 assists in a single game, underscoring her exceptional playmaking abilities.

Her impact extended beyond statistics, as she helped lead the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016, improving the team’s win total by seven games compared to the previous season. Clark's star power was further evident when she garnered the most All-Star votes in league history, with over 700,000 fan votes.

Clark was also a big reason for the TV ratings boost the WNBA saw this season. In 2024, the league averaged 1.19 million viewers during the regular season. This was a 170% increase in viewership from the 2023 season, easily breaking the record for the most-viewed season in WNBA history.

Now, in 2025, Clark has contributed to another increase in ratings. According to npr.org, TV ratings are even higher than in 2024, up 23% across the board. Not only that, attendance has also kept climbing, with games on average seeing 13% more fans than last year and total ticket sales up 26% overall.

What about the games Clark has missed? In the games Clark doesn't play, viewership for Fever games goes down between 30 to 40 percent, which is a significant margin compared to when she does play.

There is no doubt that Clark is one of the best things that has ever happened to women's basketball. Though there are plenty of players who have made a significant impact, such as Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, and Paige Bueckers, Clark is far and away the leading contributor to a historic rise in women's sports.

"Pay Us What You Owe Us"

Paige Bueckers (left) and Angel Reece (Right) during the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game. C/O to espn.com

The biggest controversy surrounding the WNBA for years now regards the salary at which players are being paid. For years, players have advocated for their salaries to reflect their value to the sport, and rightfully so. The most recent statement players made was during the All-Star Game this season, where every player who participated wore the same shirt that said "Pay us what You Owe Us".

The biggest conflict in the negotiations between WNBA players and the league is the salary structure and revenue-sharing agreements. The league wants to pay players based on a fixed percentage, while players seek “a better share where our salaries grow with the business, and not just a fixed percentage over time,” as stated by Nneka Ogwumike, president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association labor union and Seattle Storm forward.

WNBA salaries currently range from the league minimum of $66,079 to a maximum of $249,244. The average WNBA base salary is $102,249, according to Spotrac data. The league minimum in the NBA is now $1.27 million, and the average salary exceeds $13 million, according to data from Sports Reference.

Currently, WNBA players receive 9.3% of league revenue, including TV deals, tickets, and merchandise sales, as reported by MarketWatch. In contrast, NBA revenue is approximately split 50/50 between players and owners, with players receiving between 49% and 51% of basketball-related income.

Plus, as a result of the league's growth over the past couple of years, the league has been able to secure a $2.2 billion media deal and expansion fees of $250 million. The league recently granted three new expansion teams to Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, which will expand the league to 18 teams over the next five years.

Consequently, players desire a salary structure that grants them a ”[larger] piece of the pie that we helped create,” Minnesota Lynx forward and 2025 CNBC Changemaker Napheesa Collier mentioned to the press after the All-Star Game.

Another 2025 All-Star Nneka Ogwumike also stated that, “We want to ensure a fair share moving forward, especially as we witness all the investment going in, and we want our salaries to be reflected in a structure that makes sense for us.”

So, with all this said, are the players justified in their efforts to gain a bigger piece of the pie? In short, yes, but it is not as simple as advertised. The league would have to go through a significant overhaul of budgeting in order to allow an increase in salary to its players.

However, regardless of how complicated it may be, PAY THEM. There is a formula within the same sport that allows players to get paid what they are worth. You have the template. I may be stating the obvious, but the players are the fuel to the WNBA engine. Again, it definitely will take time and major shifting in budgeting and spending, but steps should absolutely be taken.

In totality, the WNBA is in as good a financial spot as it ever has been. The opportunities are endless for the sport, with ratings and sales only projected to grow. However, the league needs to find a way to pay its dues. This means giving the fuel of their success a fair percentage of revenue. The players are responsible for basically every financial surplus the league has been getting and deserve to be paid as such. If the NBA can find a way to give players the percentage they do, even though it won't amount to as much overall, the players of the WNBA deserve that same percentage.

Players aren't demanding to be paid tens of millions of dollars every year, but rather just the percentage that they are worth, which should be the same as the men.