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“Just a charity for lesbians” - Antonio Brown reacts as WNBA reportedly set to lose $50 million despite popularity surge
Retired NFL player Antonio Brown has shared his thoughts on reports that the WNBA is set to incur at least $50 million in losses for the 2024 season alone. This comes despite the reported surge in popularity thanks to the arrival of fan-favorite players, led by rookie sensation Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever.
The one-time Super Bowl winner took to X to share a highly controversial take on the league's reported losses:
"This is why I've found all the WNBA talk to be hilarious. Nobody actually watches it. So when you're arguing about it, you're not really arguing about a professional sport. It's more of just a charity for lesbians."
The Washington Post reported that the expected $50 million losses of the WNBA for the ongoing season is a continuation of the about $10-million-a-year losses the league has been incurring since its inception in 1997. The report also cited the WNBA is still relying a lot on the financial backing provided by the NBA and would have a hard time existing without it.
Numbers support WNBA improvements with the arrival of Caitlin Clark
While the WNBA is still striving towards becoming a financially profitable league, 2024's numbers are a cause for optimism, thanks to the arrival of Caitlin Clark. As reported on the Sportscasting website, the top overall pick in this year's WNBA draft has sparked an 87% hike in attendance in away games as opposed to the average home attendance of their opponents.
In the Fever's road game against the Washington Mystics on June 7, for instance, a record 20,300 fans were in attendance. Clark also accounts for 33.5% of the league's total attendance this year. Attendance at her games attracts an average of 15,591 fans, double that of the league's average of 7,645 fans.
Viewership has also improved, with games that featured Clark in the opening weekend of June 2024 posting an average of 1.099 million viewers as opposed to 414,000 viewers in those without her.
More telling, it is not only Clark who is drawing attention to the league. Also garnering their own following is No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink of the LA Sparks as well as seventh pick Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
Former Stanford standout Brink has helped the Sparks draw an average of 11,104 fans on the road. While ex-LSU star Reese has thrust Chicago to third with an average of 10,365 in away games.
All eyes will once again be channeled to the WNBA on Sunday when Clark and the Fever (4-10) host Reese and the Sky (4-7) in a marquee showdown in Indiana.
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