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The Future. As the popularity of the WNBA continues to rise, sneaker brands are finally stepping up their sponsorship game. The new deals, cutting-edge products, and associated marketing could finally help drive up the price of media rights for women’s basketball to get closer to parity with men’s.
Lacing up the league
Welcome to the new sneaker wars.
- Nike inked a multi-year, $28 million deal with rookie superstar Caitlin Clark and debuted a collection with two-time champion A’ja Wilson.
- The Swoosh will also release Sabrina Ionescu’s new sneaker (sales of previous versions — which NBA players also love — have increased 200% on StockX).
- Reebok, which now counts Shaq as its head of basketball, scored a deal with Angel Reese for a signature line.
- New Balance signed its first-ever women’s basketball player last summer with the sponsorship of Cameron Brinks.
- Adidas, in a shocker move, signed newly retired star Candace Parker as the head of its women’s basketball division.
The signings come as women’s college and pro basketball have blown up in popularity recently — so much so that this year’s women’s Final Four had a larger audience than the men’s tournament for the first time ever. Meanwhile, WNBA viewership is at its highest in 13 years.
And considering a study last year by RBC and Wasserman found that “fans of women’s sports are 54% more aware of women’s sports sponsors — and 45% more likely to consider purchasing from sponsor brands — than fans of men’s sports,” according to Fast Company, the business upside could be a huge win.
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