The post WNBA Commissioner gets candid on rising ticket prices appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The WNBA has firmly been trending up in recent seasons and has already announced plans to expand to a total of 18 teams in the next few years. A new media rights deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video, worth around $2.2 billion, kicks in in 2026, and the new collective bargaining agreement is set to see a huge increase in player paydays in the WNBA.
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However, one negative aspect of this growth is undoubtedly the rising ticket prices. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was quizzed on the same during her recent appearance on In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams. The host referenced attending a recent New York Liberty-Washington Mystics game where she saw plenty of fans wearing shirts condemning the increase in ticket prices.
Engelbert, however, explained that the rising prices are a result of the WNBA trying to find a balance between growth and ticket prices. She stated that the ticket prices were simply a result of the increasing demand, something which will happen in any economic model.
“In order to fund all these investments that owners are making and obviously paying the players more which we will do in this next CBA cycle which I am sure you are going to ask me about, but that’s the reality,” she explained.
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Engelbert believes that the rising ticket prices are simply a result of the growth the WNBA has seen. She referenced the fact that the WNBA is the longest-tenured women’s professional sports league in the country, claiming that this growth was a result of the “disciplined approach” the league has followed.
“And that’s our responsibility as a league and team owners, and to do that when there is, you know, high demand, prices go up,” she said. “That’s just simple economics. So it’s all kinda interrelated to the economic model. But I realize there’s some concern out there, certainly that we don’t price out out kind of core fan base.”
WNBA ticket prices have seen a constant surge in recent years. A 43% rise was observed from the 2024-25 season alone, with average prices rising to $173 from $122 within the span of a season. The growth of the WNBA has been huge for the league, but fans are never going to be happy about spending more money.
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