{"id":36570,"date":"2022-12-29T23:19:32","date_gmt":"2022-12-30T06:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/womens-sports-saw-pivotal-growth-in-deals-interest\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:31:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:31:59","slug":"womens-sports-saw-pivotal-growth-in-deals-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/womens-sports-saw-pivotal-growth-in-deals-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s sports saw pivotal growth in deals, interest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"United
United States\u2019 Kristie Mewis, left, and Megan Rapinoe celebrate their side\u2019s third goal scored by Ashley Sanchez against Costa Rica during a CONCACAF Women\u2019s Championship soccer semifinal match in Monterrey, Mexico on July 14. (Fernando Llano\/The Associated Press)<\/span>AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been around women\u2019s basketball long enough to see the growing pains of a young WNBA league gradually shifting to increased interest in the sport at all levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe probably are bursting at the seams for the people that are decision-makers in our game to allow us to be just that,\u201d said Staley, who led the Gamecocks to their second women\u2019s hoops title this year.<\/p>\n

Popularity across women\u2019s sports has grown steadily over the past few years, but 2022 marked a pivotal moment as several sports saw increases in viewership and ratings, sponsorship deals and prime-time coverage.<\/p>\n

This past WNBA regular season was the most watched since 2006. And storylines were plentiful as the league contended with the detainment of Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner<\/a> and the retirement<\/a> of one of the league\u2019s most popular players in Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN, which aired 25 regular-season games and the entire postseason, the 2022 playoffs averaged 456,000 viewers \u2013 up 22% over 2021\u2019s postseason \u2013 making it the most-viewed WNBA postseason since 2007. The WNBA draft averaged 403,000 viewers, which was the most since Diana Taurasi was the top pick in 2004.<\/p>\n

\"South
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley celebrates after a college basketball game in the final round of the Women's Final Four NCAA tournament against UConn, April 3, 2022, in Minneapolis. South Carolina won 64-49 to win the championship. (Eric Gay\/The Associated Press)<\/span>AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said her league and the women’s college game build off each other.<\/p>\n

Engelbert said the NCAA Women\u2019s Tournament, which had the most viewed championship game in nearly two decades, built momentum for the women’s game heading into the WNBA season. Now she wants to see how far that growth can go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never satisfied,\u201d Engelbert said. \u201cMy team is like \u2018Ask for more.\u2019 When you\u2019re in hyper growth mode that\u2019s how you have to do it. We don\u2019t rest. We have to take advantage of the momentum when you have it. \u2026 You have to keep pushing, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re underinvested and undervalued.\u201d<\/p>\n

The league has a deal with ESPN\/ABC through 2025 where the company paid the WNBA $27 million in 2021 and $28.5 million this past season. That number goes up $1.5 million per season until it hits $33 million in 2025.<\/p>\n

At the collegiate level, division I football players continue to exponentially out-earn athletes in all other sports. But name, image and likeness (NIL) deals have been a game changer for female collegiate athletes, particular in nonrevenue producing sports. NIL allows women to take advantage of large social media followings and earn sponsorships with brands like Champs and Adidas.<\/p>\n

Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU, has over 8 million followers across all of her social media platforms, more than any other female collegiate athlete. Her sponsorships include deals with the clothing brand Vuori and American Eagle.<\/p>\n

From the July 2021 inception of NIL through November, women\u2019s sports occupied six of the top 10 highest-earning sports by NIL compensation, according to the NIL technology and marketing company Opendorse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe student-athletes are using social media to build their own audiences, which is driving more interest and tune in to their sports,\u201d said Blake Lawrence, CEO at Opendorse. \u201cThe industry is feeding itself \u2026 the more marketable the women\u2019s sports athletes, the more engaged their audience will be, the more engaged the audience will be, the more marketable the athletes become.\u201d<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s soccer has also enjoyed a boost in 2022.<\/p>\n

The sport has seen increased global revenue from sponsorships and broadcast deals, according to a survey by FIFA<\/a>, the sports\u2019 governing body. In an October report, the organization found that clubs reported year-on-year commercial revenue growth of 33% \u2013 indicating growing interest from sponsors; 77% of leagues had a title sponsor in 2021, up from 66% the previous year.<\/p>\n

That structural growth was coupled with unprecedented overall interest in the game.<\/p>\n

An August friendly between the United States and England at Wembley sold out in a day and drew nearly 78,000 fans. That was after 87, 192 people watched England defeat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship finals. It was the biggest attendance for a European Championship match, men\u2019s or women\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number and the types of different platforms that are highlighting women\u2019s sports, not just women\u2019s soccer, it\u2019s just showing overall that there is interest,\u201d said Kate Markgraf, the general manager of the U.S. Women\u2019s National Team.<\/p>\n

In the United States, the National Women\u2019s Soccer League saw growing popularity amid the backdrop of a leaguewide abuse scandal.<\/p>\n

In August, an independent investigation commissioned by U.S. Soccer<\/a> found that emotional abuse and sexual misconduct in its pro league were systemic, impacting multiple teams, coaches and players.<\/p>\n

Still, the NWSL title game on Oct. 29 averaged 915,000 viewers on CBS in prime time, a league record.<\/p>\n

As the sport gains global momentum ahead of next summer\u2019s Women\u2019s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, U.S., Markgraf expects this year’s trend to continue for the foreseeable future, and she wants the success and popularity of women’s soccer to impact fans personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go to a game and you watch it, it\u2019s like, huh, and you leave changed,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the more frequently they happen, the longer they resonate. \u2026 That\u2019s the goal of U.S. soccer, is to be one of the preeminent sports in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"President
President Joe Biden awards the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Megan Rapinoe at the White House in Washington on July 7, 2022. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/span>AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Barcelona's
Barcelona's Alexia Putellas celebrates after winning the women's Ballon d'Or during the 66th Ballon d'Or ceremony at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France on Oct. 17, 2022. (AP Photo\/Francois Mori, File)<\/span>AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Barcelona's
Barcelona's Alexia Putellas celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the Women's Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at Johan Cruyff stadium in Barcelona, Spain on March 13, 2022. (AP Photo\/Joan Monfort, File)<\/span>AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

States\u2019 Kristie Mewis, left, and Megan Rapinoe celebrate their side\u2019s third goal scored by Ashley Sanchez against Costa Rica during a CONCACAF Women\u2019s Championship soccer semifinal match in Monterrey, Mexico on July 14. (Fernando Llano\/The Associated Press)AP South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has been around women\u2019s basketball long enough to see the growing pains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[600,845],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-36570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-basketball","tag-soccer"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36570"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83386,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36570\/revisions\/83386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36570"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=36570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}