🏀 The WNBA is Thriving (And Losing $50M)

Sometimes, as a creator, you have to put your own interests aside for the sake of your audience.

Because while I’d love to describe (in detail) how the addition of Amtrak’s new Borealis train line is an important step in making regional rail travel a feasible alternative to cars here in the US, I don’t think many of you would care.

That’s why I leave my more ~ambitious~ projects for YouTube (and no, none of them are train-related).

In today’s newsletter:

🗞 The Big Story: Why Wimbledon Leaves $177M on the Table

📉 Biggest Loser: The WNBA is Losing $50M (And It’s OK)

🏆 Winner’s Circle: How the Chiefs’ #1 WR Did the Impossible

🗞 The Big Story

Wimbledon is losing over $100 million per year… on purpose. Let’s break it down.

Background: Last year, Wimbledon generated an estimated $360 million in revenue:

• Global broadcast rights (56%)

• Ticket sales (16%)

• Sponsorships (16%)

• Concessions and merchandise (12%)

Now, Wimbledon is considered the most popular tennis event in the world, yet somehow, less popular events like the US Open make significantly more money.

Tickets: While tournaments like the US Open and Australian Open have expanded their venues to accommodate over 700,000 people each during their events, Wimbledon’s layout hasn’t changed in decades, resulting in the event only being able to host around 500,000 fans every year.

Not to mention that the cheapest single-day ticket for Wimbledon can be purchased for as little as $25 USD.

• Wimbledon Ticket Revenue (2023): $60 million

• US Open Ticket Revenue (2023): $154 million

Sponsorships: Wimbledon also leaves money on the table when it comes to sponsors, favoring discrete, long-term partners over corporate logos plastered all over the courts and walls.

Last year, Wimbledon had only 14 sponsors, compared to the US Open’s 22. Wimbledon also requires that brand logos be black and barely visible next to the courts, and even the logos on the tournament’s main courts must be white and barely visible to anyone not in the front row.

• Wimbledon Sponsorship Revenue (2023): $60 million

• US Open Sponsorship Revenue (2023): $83 million

This difference, combined with the difference in ticket revenue, results in Wimbledon making upwards of $117M less than the US Open despite being the more popular tournament.

Dare I call it the ‘Masters of England'?’

📉 Biggest Loser

The WNBA is projected to lose $50 million this year, but that’s not even close to its biggest problem.

Background: While nearly every metric for the WNBA is up this year:

• Viewership (+211%)

• Attendance (+156%)

• Merchandise (+756)

• Social Media Impressions (+380%)

• League Pass Subscriptions (+335%)

The league is still projected to lose almost five times what it lost in 2018.

This is due, in part, to the additional $25 million per year expense the league incurred by agreeing to charge flights for every team, but that’s proving to be the least of their problems.

The Big Issue: To keep the league afloat for the last 27 years, the NBA has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into it, and in return, they gave themselves 40% equity of the WNBA.

Then, in 2022, the WNBA raised $75 million from investors, including Nike and NBA owners, in exchange for another 20% of the league.

This means that the WNBA itself only received about 40% of the estimated $200 million in revenue it generated last year, which works out to just $80 million.

Silver Lining: Luckily for the league, they’re currently renegotiating their TV contracts while having their biggest season ever. Experts estimate that starting in two years, the WNBA could command as much as $200 million per year in media rights revenue alone.

This would not only double their revenue for the second time in five years, but the league’s 40% cut would also be more than enough to make it profitable, even if you don’t account for the obvious increase in revenue it’ll have in other areas of the business.

I just wonder if the WNBA regrets selling more equity in the league two years ago…

🏆 Winner’s Circle

How did Hollywood Brown go from spending just $25 per week on food and sleeping on an air mattress to the potential number one WR on the defending Super Bowl Champs?

Well, the truth is, he was never even supposed to be here in the first place.

Early Years: When Marquise Brown was in his mother’s womb, doctors gave her a choice: give up her baby to save her own life or have her baby at the risk of her own.

Fortunately, they both survived, but Brown was born premature and has lived the rest of his life undersized.

He was a 5’7”, 130-pound WR in Florida, so even though it was his dream to play college football, he received zero FBS offers.

College Disappointment: This led him to Google “best JUCOs in the country” and eventually settle on College of the Canyons in California. However, JUCOs don’t offer scholarships, so the moment Brown landed at LAX, he went to Six Flags to interview for a job as a roller coaster operator.

Even though he got the job, he didn’t have enough money for a car, so he had to walk an hour both ways to work every week.

But the job paid him $700 per month, which was just enough to cover his $400 monthly rent, where he slept on an air mattress in an apartment he also found online.

Turning Point: Brown usually had about $100 per month to spend on food after paying for his tuition and bills, meaning his diet consisted of Ramen noodles and cheap frozen meals.

This resulted in him losing weight and even dipping below 140 pounds, which is when a teammate finally took notice and offered to let him stay with his family.

After one year at College of the Canyons, he earned workouts in front of major FBS schools like USC, Oregon, and TCU.

But after running a 4.33 40-yard dash, even more schools wanted him - including Oklahoma, where he eventually transferred to play with Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield.

Not bad for a roller coaster operator.

⏱ In Other News

• The (Untold) Truth Behind the Rise of Jerry Jones

• The best breakdown of Caitlin Clark’s impact.

• Where should I send the invoice, Falcons?

🎁 Share the Bottom of the Ninth

When you refer new readers to the Bottom of the Ninth, you win exclusive prizes.

➡️ Here is your unique link to share: https://bottom-of-the-ninth.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

You’re currently at 0. That’s only 1 away from receiving a Bottom of the Ninth Sticker!

*Please do not use fake email addresses — they will not qualify as referrals. Thank you!

👋 Happy Friday! I just realized this week that Jesse Cole followed me on TikTok (yes, that Jesse Cole).

Jesse, if you’re reading this. Let’s do lunch. Say, July 12th?