It’s a contract year for the NWSL

The 11th season of the National Women’s Soccer League kicks off (heh) tomorrow – and when it does, much like stashing a wad of cash on a high wire, a lot of money will be on the line.

The league’s existing media rights deal is set to expire at the end of this year. And under new commissioner Jessica Berman, the NWSL is looking to capitalize on its recent growth by negotiating a new (and lucrative) deal for 2024 and beyond… and they just might get it.

The NWSL’s current negotiating position is a far cry from its early days over a decade ago, when games were streamed almost entirely on YouTube for free and typically drew just a few thousand viewers at a time.

• In 2022 – the second year of the NWSL’s current three-year, $4.5 million deal with CBS – the league drew an average of ~400,000 viewers per regular-season match, and nearly 1 million viewers for the championship game.
• By comparison, the male-only Major League Soccer averaged 343,000 viewers for its 2022 regular season, and drew 3.6 million viewers for its title game (including international broadcasts).

✍️ Bottom line: Berman and other NWSL officials are hoping to secure a media rights deal with a similar framework to the MLS’ 10-year, $2.5 billion agreement with Apple TV, which was inked last summer.