WNBA’s Future Sanguine As Attendance Rises, Team Valuations Climb

Optimism about the WNBA’s future extends well beyond the hype surrounding Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA is seeing a rise in attendance and investments, and it's not only due to the "Caitlin Clark Effect." I Photo: Indiana Fever Facebook

During the 2024 regular season, league-wide attendance reached 2.4 million—up 48% year-over-year—and more than 54 million unique viewers tuned in to national telecasts, Danielle Chemtob reported for Forbes Daily.

Still, aside from a few small transactions involving minority stakes, there hasn’t been much public data to show how that momentum is translating into franchise valuations. That’s about to change.

The New York Liberty recently sold a significant minority share—described as a percentage in the “mid-teens,” according to a person with knowledge of the deal—at a $450 million valuation.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut Sun are currently on the market, seeking either a new limited partner or a full control sale.

In the meantime, Forbes is publishing its first-ever ranking of the WNBA’s most valuable teams, placing the Liberty at the top at $400 million.

The valuation reflects the recent stake sale but also factors in that any majority deal separating the team from its current ownership would likely come at a discount, as the franchise would no longer control its home arena, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.