Building the Bridge in Women's Basketball: WNBA, NCAA, and NIL

LaChina Robinson, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart at the 2023 espnW Summit in NYC. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones speak out against the “us vs them" idea that has been developing between the WNBA and women's college basketball when it comes to NIL deals vs WNBA salaries at the espnW Summit last week.

Jonquel Jones said “We want that to happen and we want these NIL deals and these sponsors to then move along with the players when they come into the pros. And to continue to invest in women’s sports cause that is how we grow the game.”

The ideal situation would be for these deals and sponsorships to evolve and grow with the athletes as they join the pros and use what they have built to continue building up women's professional sports. One of the main difficulties with this though is with NIL still being in its infancy and still lacking some much needed structure it is hard to predict what direction it will go, 35 states have passed NIL related laws and regulations but situations seem to be changing daily.

But Sheryl Swoopes, the first ever female athlete that earned a signature shoe deal, the Nike Air Swoopes, sang a slightly different tune when she discussed her opinion on the topic and is really questioning the economics of it all as we all should be.

“I think it’s sad when college players are making more money than a professional WNBA player, it doesn’t make sense to me,” she stated.

Swoopes comment also goes back to the recent report that the WNBA is projected to bring in anywhere between $180 million to $200 million this year. This is a steep increase from the $102 million made in 2019 but players’ base salaries were actually lowered to about 9.3% in 2022 in relation to this.

And in all honesty it truly is difficult to justify that a college player is making significantly more than a professional player and the why behind it all.

For example there were some questions on whether Aliyah Boston would go pro or stay for a fifth year and continue to reap the benefits of NIL at the college level (as a Fever fan I am eternally grateful she chose the former…)

But even though Angel Reese was ineligible for the draft this year she apparently is not in a rush to go pro, why would she with 17 NIL deals and a valuation of $1.3 million in these deals after her social media presence more than tripled following the NCAA tournament? It is definitely higher than the $70,000 minimum salary of the WNBA.

But Just Women’s Sports claims that the formula is clear: “The more popular players become in college, the more fans will translate to the WNBA.”

More professional players have been going back to their alma maters to participate in various events with their root teams and interact with fans old and new. It has presented a great opportunity to continue building the bridge between the NCAA and WNBA fans.

Personally, I am a fan of players more so than teams and I see this trend spreading more and more over the years from personal observation so wherever Caitlyn Clark goes when she inevitably gets drafted I (and probably every other Hawkeyes fan) will probably buy a jersey and watch at least a few of those games.

As NIL and the women's sports world continue to mature it will be interesting to see how NIL will supplement the sports world as a whole and if it keeps reshaping the sports world as we know it.