The double standard in sports investment we still have to overcome

A few weeks ago, MLS commissioner Don Garber turned heads by publicly revealing the league’s viewership numbers on AppleTV.

In its 30th season, the MLS is averaging 120,000 viewers per game via Apple’s Season Pass. Garber said this was a 50% increase year-over-year, meaning MLS only averaged ~80,000 viewers per stream last year. 

Many folks in the women’s sports community were quick to point out that the NWSL is beating out its male counterpart, with 189,000 viewers per game. That’s 58% better than the MLS. And it’s happening during a season without Sophia Smith or Mallory Swanson (and with Trinity Rodman missing significant time), while the MLS has its biggest-ever star in Lionel Messi. 

The MLS is in the middle of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal signed with Apple in 2023. The NWSL is in the second year of a 4-year, $240 million deal signed with CBS, ESPN, Prime and Scripps. So while the NWSL averages more viewers per game, the MLS makes $190 million more per season on its media deal.  

It should be noted that the MLS has more teams playing more regular season games, so the comparison isn’t 1:1. But given the league is entering its fourth decade of play, and that the US just hosted the men’s Club World Cup, and that momentum is supposed to be building toward next year’s FIFA World Cup — 120,000 is a disappointing number. Garber wasn’t bragging when he shared that stat. 

You might look at the comparative viewership numbers and think that Apple feels robbed, while each of the NWSL’s partners must think they got a steal. 

But here’s the thing: I bet if these deals were being renegotiated today, the MLS would still end up getting paid more per viewer. 

The question is: Why? 

The hidden double standard in valuing women’s sports

A few years ago, I wrote a tweet thread that’s still true today. I started off by saying that the biggest double standard in sports isn’t equal pay. It’s potential vs production. 

Men’s sports are valued based on their potential. Women’s sports are valued by where they are today. One side is allowed to sell visions of its future, while the other can only share receipts from today. 

Even last year, when the MLS was averaging a paltry 80,000 viewers per match, Garber told CNBC, “We have more subscribers than we and Apple thought we would have,” while deputy commissioner Gary Stevenson said, “We are very pleased with the product that we and Apple delivered to our fans. It starts with the product, and the product is excellent and has been well received.” 

If a women’s sports league was averaging 80,000 viewers after three decades of play, the pitchforks would be out. Instead, the positive spin was and continues to be put on the MLS, and no one bats an eye. (Meanwhile, the WNBA is averaging nearly 800,000 viewers per game, and you still see people claiming that it’s just a passing fad.) 

Even just look at the latest headlines regarding viewership for both the MLS and the NWSL: 

MLS Commissioner On Apple TV Deal: Critics ‘Don’t Get It Yet’ (Front Office Sports) 

NWSL viewership down 8% with star players out, but league optimistic about second half bounce (SBJ) 

To be clear, I’m not rooting for the MLS to fail (and I recognize these headlines are a limited sample). I just want people to notice how relentless the optimism is when it comes to men’s sports. No matter how bad the viewership stats look, these leagues are allowed to point to their future and say we still have potential. You just don’t get it yet. 

That’s why even as it fails to find a mainstream audience, the average MLS team is worth $721 million. And that’s why if these deals were re-done today, the MLS would, by-default, be given a sweeter deal than the NWSL. Because what’s being sold isn’t the MLS today — it’s what the MLS could be. 

Equal pay is great — but investment moves the needle

“Equal pay” used to be the rallying cry in women’s sports. But as I said in that original thread, what we really need is more investment. We need deep-pocketed stakeholders who believe in what women’s sports could be. 

“Some investors will never get there,” I wrote, “but others can have their eyes opened if we deliver the right message.” 

That was in 2022. And guess what? Some investors are getting there. 

Angel City joined the NWSL in 2022 with a $2 million expansion fee. It’s now valued at $280 million. On the basketball side, Mark Davis bought the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces for $2 million in 2021. They’re now valued at $310 million. 

Expansion fees in the NWSL have grown from $2 million to $110 million. In the WNBA, they’re now $250 million.

When people talk about women’s sports franchise valuations “skyrocketing,” the metaphor can make it seem like a gradual shift has suddenly sped up, when really, it’s more like a switch has been flipped. 

Simply put: investors are now valuing these franchises as they would in men’s sports, by looking at their long-term potential. It’s not just that these leagues are attracting more fans – it’s that investors are starting to realize they have the potential to be mainstream pillars of American culture.

Why I don’t expect the growth to slow

Today, the MLS has to explain why its viewership numbers aren’t as bad as they look. Meanwhile, some investors will look at the NWSL or WNBA’s viewership numbers and pretend they don’t actually mean anything. 

Some are starting to get it. And more will soon, as the gender split in sports investment continues to shrink. 

When you look at how quickly women’s sports valuations have grown, it might be tempting to ask how we sustain this momentum. The better question is, just how big can this get? Because these numbers aren’t a ceiling. They’re just the new floor.

ICYMI: Just Women’s Sports is back as an NWSL digital media partner for the fourth year in a row. Read the write-up in Sports Business Journal here.