The WNBA is being criticized for accepting a ‘lowball’ $200 million-a-year media rights deal from a legendary basketball player

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Women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller is not happy with the WNBA’s new media rights deal.

Last week it was reported that the WNBA had signed a historic $2.2 billion media rights deal that would last 11 years. The deal was negotiated by the NBA and is a major step up from the WNBA’s current $60 million/year media rights deal.

Through Athletics

The WNBA’s next national media rights package is taking shape. The league is expected to receive about $2.2 billion over the next 11 years in rights fees in its new deals — an average of $200 million per year — with an opening to earn more over that period, according to league sources familiar with the contracts.

The NBA negotiated the WNBA’s new deals during just-concluded rights talks, where it reached an agreement with Disney, NBC and Amazon on an 11-year, roughly $75 billion set of contracts. The WNBA’s national media rights deals are also with those companies; ESPN, NBC and Amazon will all have their own WNBA packages.

The WNBA Players Association criticized the deal, arguing it would give the WNBA too little long-term value.

“We’ve been wondering for months how the NBA would value the WNBA in its media rights deal. With a reported $75 billion deal on the table, the league controls its own destiny. More accurately, the NBA controls the destiny of the WNBA. We look forward to hearing how the NBA arrived at a $200 million valuation, if early reports are accurate or even close. Neither the NBA nor the WNBA can deny that we’ve seen unprecedented growth across all metrics in recent years, that the players continue to demonstrate their dedication to building the brand, and that the fans continue to show up. There’s no excuse to undervalue the WNBA again.”

Legendary basketball legend Cheryl Miller agreed with the WNBAPA’s position, arguing that the WNBA had received a “lowball” deal.

“I’m not very good with numbers,” Miller told reporters in Phoenix. “That’s an underball.” “We need tough, honest negotiators and visionaries,” Miller said. “And we need a bully, we need a bully behind the table who’s willing to say we’re going to split the pieces and go from there. But there’s a number greater than 2 that we want.”