PHOENIX — The WNBA is considering expanding its regular season to 44 games for the 2025 campaign, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Saturday before the league's All-Star Game.
“We are looking at the footprint we will leave for next year,” Engelbert said. “We won't have an international competition like the FIBA World Cup or the Olympics next year, so we will be able to look at our footprint without any interruptions or breaks, as we are doing this year.”
Forty-four games per team is the maximum allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement, though in the long term, Engelbert has talked about the vision of extending the season even further. More total games are also on the horizon for the next two seasons with expansion franchises Golden State (2025) and Toronto (2026) set to begin play.
The regular season is currently 40 games per team.
The WNBA is in the midst of one of its most memorable seasons, having witnessed its highest attendance in 26 years, set new viewership records and seen increased merchandise sales and heightened fan engagement.
“When I stood before you last year at this time, I knew we were poised for big things. We were preparing for big things,” Engelbert said. “But I'm very excited about what we've been able to accomplish over the last year.”
Much of that growth has been fueled by the current rookie class, headlined by college-turned-pro stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who arrived here as All-Stars.
“I'm very pleased with Caitlin and all of our rookies,” Engelbert said. “The amount of new fans we're able to bring into this league is exponential compared to my expectations of what we were going to do.”
“I think this rookie class has brought a lot of attention and is elevating all of our games and all of our players.”
Engelbert addressed a variety of other topics during his media availability:
• She said she could not comment on the details of the media deal that was reported to be coming, which is valued at $2.2 billion over 11 years but has not yet been finalized. But Engelbert said: “I think we're going to do something historic. I think once we're able to get those media deals done, everyone will understand that this is a historic moment for women's sports and the WNBA will be at the forefront of that process… our next round of media deals will allow us to continue to transform this league.”
• The league is continuing to work to smooth out the kinks in its new recruiting program, which was implemented earlier this season. “We're continuing to work on improving the experience for our players in that regard,” Engelbert said, “and I think when we come out of the Olympic break, we'll be in better shape with this program and we'll see some improvements.”
• The league's investigation into the Las Vegas Aces over sponsorship deals its players signed with the city's tourism authority is ongoing, according to Engelbert. The league has hired outside counsel to handle the investigation.
• To further globalize the game, the WNBA is considering holding games around the world; Engelbert specifically mentioned Europe, Asia, Mexico City and the Middle East. The league has already held exhibition games in Canada. It could also consider holding games at neutral venues in the United States to test expansion markets.
