Last year, Relo Metrics spoke with The GIST about its first year of tracking sponsor media value (SMV) in the WNBA. On Wednesday, we checked in with company CEO Jay Prasad on how the 2025 season so far compares with an explosive 2024 season that generated $136M in SMV for league sponsors.

Season two of Overtime Select — the high school girls’ basketball tournament launched by Gen Z sports brand Overtime (OT) last year — tips off on Saturday, so we spoke with OT about its growth numbers and the ROI for brands that want to capitalize on the next generation of women’s basketball stars.

This week, Deadline broke some welcome news for the Sporty Spice generation: Bend It Like Beckham is returning to the pitch for a sequel. After witnessing the growth of the women’s game and a chance encounter with Emma Hayes, director Gurinder Chadha was inspired to add to the story that motivated a generation.

Ahead of yesterday’s thrilling championship game, a rematch of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) final between England and Spain, UEFA published impressive metrics measuring the tournament’s growth.

The Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark has shattered records once again — or at least her likeness has. Last Thursday, a signed one-of-one Panini trading card depicting Clark sold for $660K, beating the previous $366K record set by another of Clark’s Panini cards in March. Let’s explore how Clark has recalibrated the memorabilia market with her unparalleled WNBA stardom.

Yesterday, sponsorship insights platform SponsorUnited released its inaugural WNBA Partnerships Report, covering 12 WNBA teams over 2024 season and the 2025 season so far. The report — which Lynch says has been three years in the making — notes a 17% surge in deals during the 2025 WNBA season alone.

The podcast space is finally listening to women’s sports fans — something we’ve been doing since 2020. Everyone from sports media companies to standalone podcasts are getting into the women’s game, so we’re covering some trends in the space and what they mean for the future.

Earlier this month, Sports Business Journal shared data from sponsorship analytics platform Blinkfire on social media engagement among professional North American sports teams. Eight of the top 10 are WNBA teams, led by the Dallas Wings, Indiana Fever, and Golden State Valkyries.

The WNBA’s All-Star Weekend (ASW) drove a variety of online conversation, from ongoing CBA negotiations to the proliferation of StudBudz, the player-powered shared social media profile that offered an entertaining inside look into ASW.

Today, Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) announced that Sephora will become its exclusive beauty partner and presenting sponsor of its AUSL Championship series, which airs on ESPN this weekend. While Sephora isn’t the first beauty brand to join the women’s game, it’s gaining ground and further cementing its status as the beauty industry’s top dog.

Athlos — the women’s track meet launched last year — is returning this fall with a clever plan to win over fans. Yesterday, the organization confirmed it will host a portion of its competition in the heart of Times Square. This is reminiscent of recent PLL and WLL strategy, illustrating how niche sports and upstart leagues are using unconventional gimmicks to hook viewers.

Yesterday, Portland’s WNBA expansion team finally launched its long-awaited brand reveal, showcasing its name and logo as the Portland Fire. While there are some local criticisms about the name, Portland made this decision with significant intentionality, which may have influenced the overall positive response to the name.