Fired up

The GIST: On Friday, the Indiana Fever hired former Connecticut Sun head coach (HC) and former Fever player (and HC) Stephanie White. She fills one of seven recent HC vacancies as the league sees unprecedented turnover: Nearly 60% of last year’s coaches are no longer in the same role, the most for any WNBA hiring cycle in history.

• While each coaching change happened for different reasons, industry experts see the turnover trend as one of the many changes to expect in the new-look, billion-dollar W. Switch.

The background: The firings weren’t necessarily reflective of job performance as three teams parted with their HCs despite making the playoffs. And while Curt Miller’s and Tanisha Wright’s departures weren’t surprising, Chicago’s decision to fire Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon faced blowback before the team hired Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Tyler Marsh on Saturday.

• Though some moves have been shocking, leadership turnover is nothing unusual in sport or in business. Half of the NBA’s coaches have been there three or fewer years, while general CEO turnover hit a five-year high in 2022.

The why: With more eyes on the W than ever, owners are more invested in gaining a competitive edge, which includes pursuing exceptional coaches. They’ve often looked to the NBA and the G League by rewarding HCs like the Phoenix Mercury’s Nate Tibbetts and Las Vegas Aces’ Becky Hammon with record contracts, but may continue to look within the W as the Fever and Sky both did.

• It’s also a savvy move to hire new HCs now to build a strong foundation before player contracts jump in value in 2026, when athletes are expected to have a new CBA and the media rights windfall begins.

Zooming out: As drastic as the coaching turnover may seem, W franchises are pressing for the best coaches out there — and they should soon have the salaries to match. Powerhouse NCAA programs like South Carolina and LSU are paying their coaches double (or even triple) what pro coaches make, but the WNBA is now positioned to catch up. Chalk it up to growing pains.

The GIST: Women’s footy has finally caught its big break across the pond. Last week, the WSL — the top flight of UK women’s soccer — inked a five-year rights extension with Sky Sports and the BBC worth $84.5M. The deal follows months of speculation and has already been dubbed the “most significant” TV contract for women’s soccer in the UK and Ireland. Bloody right.

The details: Lead broadcasting partner Sky — a subsidiary of NBC parent Comcast — will show up to 118 WSL matches per season, including 78 exclusively on Sky and Sky Sports. The BBC will air 21 games: 14 exclusive BBC TV broadcasts, and seven simulcasts with Sky. Additionally, Sky has pledged to innovate its coverage and provide marketing and promotion assistance to the WSL.

• The deal will run from the 2025-26 season through 2030 and sits at about $16.9M per year, considerably higher than the current agreement worth between $9.1M and $10.4M annually. However, taking production costs and other factors into consideration, these companies will invest more than $130M combined into the WSL.

• Plus, the deal finally allows players to post in-game and post-game clips to their social media accounts without worrying about copyright infringement. Score.

The context: WSL governing body Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) has reportedly been gearing up to negotiate a larger media rights deal for months. This February, it put every game up for broadcast and signed a one-year deal with Sky and the BBC in April, which WPLL CEO Nikki Doucet described as an opportunity to understand its audience as it targeted a longer deal.

• The viewership data proved promising: The WSL saw a record average audience of 40 minutes per match during the 2023-24 season, an 11% jump YoY. This season also marked another key shift as games were shown on YouTube for the first time, which more than tripled online viewership.

Zooming out: As seen with the NWSL’s four-year, $240M deal and the WNBA’s $2.2B, 11-year deal, massive media rights contracts can lead to increased commercial partnerships and rising visibility and valuations. This is a key step to the WSL becoming the billion-pound league it wants to be, while also making it an even bigger competitor for international soccer talent. Watch out, NWSL.

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