Angel Reese on new WNBA media rights deal: 'We deserve it'

Amid a viewership surge, the WNBA also reportedly secured a lucrative new media rights deal. The agreement, which would kick in after the 2025 season, would more than triple the revenue coming in from the league’s partners.

Angel Reese has been at the center of the popularity spike while starring for the Chicago Sky. She spoke about what it means for the WNBA to land the lucrative new agreement.

The WNBA’s next media deal will be worth $2.2 billion over 11 years and start with the 2026 season, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. The average value of $200 million per year is a major increase from the $50 million payouts under the current agreement with Disney, ION, CBS and Amazon. Reese said it’s a long time coming for the W, but she’s glad the league is capitalizing.

“I was so happy. We deserve it,” Reese told ESPN’s Michele Steele. “This league has deserved this for a while, the women in this league have deserved it for a while. No better place and no better time than now. So many people are watching. I’m excited for what’s upcoming.

“I think people have done whatever they can do right now to watch our games. So now, being able to make it easier and so many more people can watch, it’s gonna be really good.”

Reese and Caitlin Clark have helped fuel the TV viewership surge amid their impressive rookie seasons. Their two matchups are the most-watched games of the year, including the June 23 game which drew 2.30 million viewers. That was the largest audience for a WNBA game in 25 years.

All told, 16 WNBA games topped 1 million viewers prior to the Olympic break. Clark and the Fever played in 14 of them.

While Disney and Amazon will be part of the new deal, along with newcomer NBC, the WNBA could sell two more rights packages to make an additional $60 million per year, per The Athletic. Of course, there’s also the potential of four more games per team, which could add even more value.

In addition, the upcoming media deal would add to the surge in ticket and merchandise sales. WNBA merchandise is up more than 500%, including an increase of more than 1,000% on t-shirts and jerseys, according to the Sports Business Journal. League-specific merchandise is also up 200%, fueled by the orange hoodie with the WNBA logo on it.

Caitlin Clark is the top-selling player through the first half of the season, followed by Angel Reese. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin and Aces forward A’ja Wilson round out the top five best-selling players heading into the Olympic break.