There is a reason why, even when star WNBA players demand ‘Pay Us What You Owe Us,’ the league hasn’t obliged. It is because they don’t make a profit! NBA commissioner Adam Silver once said, in 2018, that the WNBA’s losses were roughly $10 million a year. Reports last fall said the WNBA was due to lose $40 million in 2024. Amidst this issue, the last thing the league would want is to splurge its money into any additional investments. However, the non-profits aren’t stopping team owners from going big into new practice facilities for their players.

A social media user by the name of ‘Merrikaty’ recently highlighted a comparison of how much the front office of each top WNBA team is spending on their respective practice facilities.

• At the top is the Los Angeles Sparks, which, according to reports, will be spending a whopping $150 million. In the same price range is a facility for the Portland Fire/Thorns.
• Meanwhile, the New York Liberty, which announced a Dedicated State-of-the-Art 75,000 Sq. Ft. Practice Facility in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, back in March, will spend $80 million.
• The Indiana Fever isn’t that far behind with a $78 million investment for a new three-story, 108,000-square-foot facility.
• The Dallas Wings, who acquired the 2025 1st draft pick Paige Bueckers, will spend $55 million, and the Chicago Sky will spend $38 million.

It’s clear that stakeholders believe in the WNBA’s future; that’s why there are ownership battles over teams like the Connecticut Sun and why so many are willing to invest heavily. After all, this summer, the WNBA shattered its long-standing attendance mark. More than 2.5 million fans have already packed arenas through 226 games, a record that once required a 16-team league and 256 contests back in 2002. And with games still left on the schedule, the league is pacing toward an unprecedented 3 million by season’s end.

The momentum hasn’t just been inside the arenas. Despite Caitlin Clark being sidelined for most of the year, TV audiences still climbed. According to Sports Media Watch, broadcasts on ESPN, ION, and CBS averaged 969,000 viewers, up 3% from last season. The numbers reflect something bigger than one player: the strength and appeal of the game itself.

However, here’s also where the CBA drama comes in. After all, if the players don’t get what they deserve, despite such positive growth, there is a good chance that the WNBA might be on the brink of the league’s first-ever lockout. And if that happens, then making such huge investments won’t matter in light of any additional losses generated due to the lockout. A strange tension, isn’t it?

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If all that wasn’t enough, the league also has to consider the ‘Unrivaled’ league slowly rising as a competitor. Several players, ranging from Angel Reese to Gabby Williams, have called out the WNBA for treating them poorly in comparison to ‘Unrivaled’.

After Angel Reese received a $50k bonus after her ‘Unrivaled’ team Rose BC won the chip, she took to X and wrote “50K NEED DATTTTT”. The Chicago Sky star later added to her remark by stating, “I’m sorry to break it to you but I’m on a rookie contract, and that 50k was a little more than half of my contract so I have to keep that to myself.”

A new practice facility could help boost morale. But can it pay their rent? No. So, even such significant investments raise questions about the long-term future. However, with plans drawn up, there is nothing much that teams can do now to reverse their decisions. Could such in-motion plans have been the very reason behind Sandy Brondello’s fate?

Was Sandy Brondello Fired Because of the New York Liberty’s $80 Million Practice Facility?

During the latest episode of the Good Follow podcast, WNBA insiders Ros Gold-Onwude and Angel McCoughtry touched base on Sandy Brondello’s firing. The New York Liberty head coach was let go by the team, and it was announced on Tuesday morning. Her departure comes after Sabrina Ionescu and co had an early playoff exit just a season after the team secured the WNBA championship. Since there was no specific reason given for Brondello’s exit, it created a wave of speculation. The two hosts only added to it.

“I think the bigger message that we’re getting from the Liberty is that, and this is from the like Liberty organization and franchise who all those people up at the top. The message is that a first-round exit is not the standard. I will not cut it. Not with all that talent on the roster. Not with all those Finals MVPs on the roster. Liberty played with three finals MPVs. Not with the investment of $80 million practice facility coming. Not with the rising ticket prices that their fan base has been very vocal about, and the disappointment of that,” said Ros Gold-Onwude.

Well, as they say, increased investment increases pressure.

Couple that with her heavy reliance on just three stars and the underuse of a capable bench, and it was only a matter of time before Brondello drew criticism once the team fell short. As Ros Gold-Onwude added, “There were multiple times they did not come ready to play. There were some really bad head scratching losses, and perhaps you know, brass and the executive upstairs thought that it showed a lack of preparedness for a team with that much talent.”

Well, there’s so much happening in the W right now that it’s hard to keep track. Let’s see what unfolds before Oct. 31-both in terms of which team wins and how things play out between the WNBA and the WNBPA.