Advertising spending on women’s sports surged in 2024, more than doubling from the previous year, according to a new report from TV marketing firm EDO. Women’s basketball attracted the largest share of the investment. With more money flowing into the industry than ever before, these gains could also translate into financial progress for female athletes.
Advertisers spent $244 million on women’s sports in 2024, marking a 139% year-over-year increase. This ad-dollar boom aligns with a spike in women’s sports viewership. For example, over two million viewers tuned into game five of the WNBA championship series, making it the most-watched WNBA game in 25 years. And last spring, the women’s NCAA basketball championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time.
As part of the advertising analysis, EDO also examined online activity within 2-5 minutes after the ads ran and found that the ads placed during women’s sports broadcasts generated 40% more activity than the average primetime commercial. This engagement with the ads suggests that spending will continue to increase.
Does More Ad Spending Equal More Pay?
The influx of advertising dollars into women’s sports is a game-changer, but whether it will lead to better pay for female athletes remains to be seen. Although the WNBA is one of the most successful professional women’s sports associations, the pay gap between the WNBA and the NBA remains staggering. According to sports betting site WSN, the average NBA player’s salary is $11.9 million, while WNBA players earn a fraction of that—just $119,590 on average. The disparity is even more glaring at the top. Steph Curry, the NBA’s highest-paid player, rakes in $55.8 million per year, while Jackie Young, the WNBA’s top earner, makes just $252,450.
The massive pay gap has long been attributed to the NBA’s more significant revenue stream. However, the WNBA’s financial issues have been tied to a cyclical problem that impacts many women’s professional sports teams. Without a large audience, it’s difficult for them to secure major media deals and ad revenue, but without those deals, attracting and retaining viewers is nearly impossible. But with advertising spending on women’s sports rising at an unprecedented rate, it may be a sign that the tide is finally turning, setting the stage for long-overdue increases in player pay.
Female Athletes As Brand Ambassadors
As revenue and viewership grow, another key factor in closing the pay gap is gaining momentum—endorsement deals. Female athletes are becoming increasingly valuable as brand ambassadors.
According to the EDO study, ads featuring WNBA athletes were twice as effective as the primetime average, delivering stronger consumer engagement. CarMax saw nearly three times the league’s average engagement in ads featuring WNBA superstars Sabrina Ionescu, Chiney Ogwumike, A’ja Wilson, and Sue Bird. Meanwhile, New Balance and SKIMS ads featuring Cameron Brink of the Los Angeles Sparks outperformed all others, driving a staggering 1,368% more engagement than the average WNBA ad.
Most notably, ads during WNBA games featuring WNBA players were even more effective than those starring NBA athletes, indicating that female athletes can drive brand engagement. These strong results should result in even more endorsements for female players in the future.
In July, the WNBA also announced a new media rights deal that is predicted to increase revenue and viewership. Starting in 2026, Disney, Amazon, and NBCUniversal will distribute more than 125 WNBA regular season and playoff games nationally each season, and the New York Times predicts, “you should expect them to invest serious marketing dollars.”
The potential payoff from this media deal is significant. When the National Women’s Soccer League secured a new media rights deal last year, advertising revenue jumped ninefold. If the WNBA follows suit, this investment could also help reshape the financial landscape for the league and its players.