The 2024 WNBA Draft class has proven to be one of the most important in the growth of the league, as players such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink have garnered major sponsorship and engagement.
Sponsor United’s first WNBA Partnerships Report found this new generation of stars are becoming the focal point of driving attention and engagement to the league.
Among the top ten players driving the most social return on investment (ROI), 23-year-old rookie Paige Bueckers tops the list with 4.9 million branded engagements.
Following behind Bueckers is Reese with 4.4 million branded engagements. There is then a significant gap, with Brink (918k), Clark (716k), Kelsey Plum (606k) coming in third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Not only are WNBA athletes bringing in engagement via social media, but also attracting sponsors as companies are increasingly recognising the value of players.
Reese, alongside Breanna Stewart, have the most sponsorships among WNBA athletes, with 22 each. Reese has deals in place with the likes of McDonalds, Amazon and Beats By Dre, while Stewart has valuable deals with Peloton and Delta Airlines.
Sponsor United highlighted of the top five WNBA athletes with the most sponsorships; Reese, Stewart, Brink (20), Kamilla Cardoso (20), and Bueckers (18), 80% are either competing in their first or second season, compounding the importance of these next generation players.
They are also generating valuable returns on these sponsorship deals. Indiana Fever guard Clark has become arguably the league’s most popular name, and in turn, has helped the Fever’s arena naming rights partner, Gainsbridge’s value “surge”.
That boost is only one part of what SponsorUnited has dubbed the “Clark Effect”.
According to the report, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is investing three times as much into the Indiana Fever as it is into the NBA’s Indiana Pacers – a signal of confidence in the women’s side of the sport. This reallocation speaks volumes about Clark’s commercial gravity and the wider shift in sponsor priorities.
This rise in individual player influence has coincided with a notable trend in how brands are approaching the WNBA for the first time. Among the top new spenders in 2024, several companies chose the WNBA as their first-ever entry point into sports sponsorship.
Mission-driven and emerging brands are increasingly bypassing traditional men’s leagues in favour of more targeted, high-impact partnerships with WNBA teams.Partake Foods, a Black woman-founded, allergy-friendly snack brand, became the first rotating jersey badge sponsor in WNBA history via its deal with the Phoenix Mercury. Meanwhile, Lendistry, a minority-led fintech and community lender, partnered with the LA Sparks to back women-owned small businesses through “Small Business Summer” activations.
League & team expansion
The WNBA introduced its newest team, the Golden State Valkyries, this 2025 season and the team quickly became the most valuable franchise in the league, achieving a valuation of $500m in just a few months.
The Valkyries were able to achieve this by leveraging the surge in WNBA viewership, attendances and sponsorship interest. The report stated ESPN viewership grew by 170% during the 2024 season, a 600% increase in merchandise sales, and 48% increase in attendances.
Sponsorship interest has since significantly increased for the league and its teams, with a total of $76m being paid out to WNBA franchises last season, from a total of 450 brands spread across 531 deals.
The average sponsorship deal per team is 44, with the Phoenix Mercury drawing in the most sponsorship revenue at $6.3m, followed by the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever both at $6.1m.
Financial companies paid out the most to teams out of the top 10 categories, ahead of healthcare, insurance, gaming and retail.
For example, gaming brands made just 11 sponsorship deals across all 13 teams, and only 58% of franchises have even entered the category. Despite relatively low activity, gaming still registered one of the highest average deal sizes at $500,000, suggesting significant untapped revenue potential.
Other underrepresented sectors include automotive and technology, both of which are well-established in men’s sports but remain nascent in WNBA partnerships. For rights holders, these could represent clear next frontiers for growth.
September 15 will see SBC organise a ground breaking charity football event in Lisbon. Make sure you get the chance to see some of the most legendary names in football by securing your ticket today at https://www.legendscharitygame.com/
