The WNBA begins its 19th season this week after a headline-filled offseason.
They weren’t necessarily the types of stories the league would have hoped for.
Last month, Phoenix star Brittney Griner and Tulsa’s Glory Johnson were suspended by the WNBA for seven regular-season games each and ordered to attend counseling after both were charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct following a domestic violence incident at their Phoenix home in April. Two weeks after the incident, Griner and Johnson were married at a ceremony in Phoenix.
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The Mercury’s Diana Taurasi (left) is skipping the WNBA season, and Brittney Griner has been suspended.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Also last month, New York Liberty and NBA Knicks owner James Dolan hired Isiah Thomas as president of the Liberty while also giving Thomas a 1 percent stake in the franchise, pending league approval. Thomas, a former Knicks president and head coach, was previously accused by former Knicks marketing executive Anucha Browne Sanders of sexual harassment. Franchise owner Madison Square Garden and the Knicks settled the case with Sanders in 2007 for $11.5 million.
In late April, another of the league’s stars, Maya Moore, wrote an article for The Players’ Tribune noting the lack of visibility for WNBA players. That followed perennial all-star Diana Taurasi, one of the league’s veterans, announcing during the offseason that she would skip the WNBA’s 2015 campaign at the request of the Russian Premier League team that she plays for through the winter — and that pays her substantially more than she makes in the WNBA.
The 2015 WNBA regular season begins Friday night.
“For us, the offseason is about looking at where we want to step up and what momentum we will carry into the new season,” said WNBA President Laurel Richie. “With respect to Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson, the statement we issued was crystal clear in our point of view. It was very important not only to clearly articulate the consequences, but also that the counseling part of it was equally important. Just as we followed a very thoughtful and thorough process as we evaluated the situation with Brittney and Glory, we will do the same with MSG and Isiah Thomas.”
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Maya Moore’s article cited WNBA players’ lack of visibility.
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Richie applauded Moore’s position on the lack of player visibility on the WNBA. “I was fully in agreement and I thought it was incredibly insightful,” Richie said. “There is a great opportunity for greater coverage of our league, our games and our players. The depth of talent is at an all-time high.”
As for Taurasi, while some observers expect other players will follow her lead in future seasons, Richie has said she doesn’t expect stars sitting out will become a trend.
Taurasi said when making her announcement that she plans to return to the WNBA in 2016.
The 12-team WNBA last year averaged 7,578 fans per game, up from 7,531 in 2013 and a second consecutive increase from the league setting an all-time low in 2012 (7,457 per game). Richie said the league’s season-ticket renewal rate is up 2 percentage points to date this year compared with entering 2014, and leaguewide partnership revenue is up 14 percent to date compared with last year.
Fueling the partnership-revenue increase are new leaguewide deals with Pepsi, Harman and Kaiser Permanente, all of which signed as sponsors for the NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League since the end of the 2014 WNBA season.
At the team level, the league has added two more marquee deals that include jersey branding. These multiyear deals are worth at least seven figures annually. Chicago signed with local steel distributor Magellan Corp.; Los Angeles signed with EquiTrust Life Insurance Co.
The WNBA now has seven marquee sponsorship deals. The new deals join Phoenix (Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort), San Antonio (H-E-B), Indiana (Finish Line), Tulsa (Osage Casino) and Minnesota (Mayo Clinic).
Said Chicago Sky President Adam Fox, “The deal legitimizes what we are doing and the work the organization has put in. It validates our place in the Chicago sports landscape.”
More marquee deals are expected in the league.
“I am 100 percent confident that the number will go up this year,” said Richie, who has been with the WNBA since 2011.
The WNBA will build its marketing efforts again this year around the concept of “summer fun,” a theme it used in 2014. The league does, however, also enter the season with a recently redesigned website as well as newly designed team sites, all of which feature more video content.
“That is a major offseason initiative as well,” Richie said. “We are taking a mobile-first approach with fresher content.”
