The WNBA commissioner says the massive NIL success for women's college basketball players will be a 'huge positive' for the league

NIL, according to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, could be a “huge positive” for the league.
She believes that star college players have elevated women’s basketball and will bring new fans to the W.
This season, Engelbert also shared eight teams to watch in women’s college basketball.

Name, image, and likeness are creating a new crop of superstars in women’s college basketball who have the potential to change the game as a whole.

According to data, college athletes are the “best-performing subset of influencers” for brands, with women’s basketball players having some of the largest followings and engagement rates. Angel Reese has more Instagram followers than the WNBA and a Reebok deal, while her teammate Hailey Van Lith has an Adidas deal.

These collaborations are significant not only for the athletes. They could be a “huge positive” for the WNBA, according to Cathy Engelbert, the league’s commissioner.

“It’s just going to be really interesting to see those players come into our league with big followings and see what that does to lift the viewership and the engagement in our league,” said Engelbert.

Those athletes are already increasing interest in women’s college basketball. According to Englebert, last season’s March Madness tournament set a record for the championship game with 9.9 million viewers and increased interest in the sport overall.

As current college players who have become national celebrities graduate and transition to the WNBA, the unprecedented viewership could bring more eyes, engagement, and endorsements to the league.

“We’ll just continue to look for the way we can benefit off the momentum of the women’s game,” Engelbert went on to say.

Aside from rising viewership and social media followings, Engelbert emphasizes the caliber of companies entering NIL deals with women’s players. Her future hoopers are already working with brands comparable to those associated with professional athletes, attracting names such as Nike and Adidas.

She believes that the national brands with which some of these women’s players work may be more easily transferred to the big leagues than some of the local college town partnerships she sees on the men’s side.

“The local grocer and the local car dealer, well that doesn’t come into the next professional league well,” Engelbert went on to say. However, many women’s college basketball players “have Nike and Adidas.” They have Powerade and Gatorade. They have Mercedes as well as State Farm.”

Corporate partnerships, along with media rights, are one of the league’s two major revenue sources, according to Engelbert. According to data, the league has increased engagement for its advertisers as viewership has increased, and having future draft picks already working with top-tier brands could increase attention and resources into the WNBA’s entire ecosystem.

It all comes down to league expansion, which is a top priority for the WNBA — Engelbert recently announced the addition of a new team in the Bay Area, the first since 2008. More roster spots mean more rookies, according to Engelbert, all of whom have now reached the age of NIL.

For those who follow the sport’s biggest stars, the women’s college basketball season has already been exciting. The three top-ranked teams entering the season, including Reese and Van Lith, have all lost to lower-ranked opponents. The level of competition this early in the season, according to Engelbert, has been “really amazing.”

This season, Englebert will be watching the following women’s college basketball teams:

University of Connecticut
University of Iowa
Stanford University
University of South Carolina
Louisiana State University
University of Notre Dame: “I have a sweet spot for Notre Dame because my former coach, Muffet McGraw, is now going to have a statue devoted to her,” Engelbert said.
University of Southern California
University of Colorado Boulder: “I didn’t know how good their program is,” Engelbert said. The Buffaloes upset reigning champion LSU the first game of the season for both teams.