The WNBA is evolving into a big money league. The New York Liberty team — which won last season’s Women’s National Basketball Association final — is now reportedly valued at $450 million after a recent investment round. Investors include high-profile names such as Jack Ma, Karen Finerman, Thasunda Brown Duckett, Karlie Kloss, Gabrielle Rubenstein and Samantha Lasry. It’s no wonder brands want in.
Already, the list of partnerships is lengthening. New York Liberty counts Off-White as its “official style and culture curator” (announced September 2024); luggage brand Away as its official luggage partner; Essie as its official nail polish partner; and Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin as its beauty partner. Most of the deals were announced just before the season opened on 16 May.
Other teams, as well as the league itself, are also catching the attention of fashion and beauty brands. After a stellar 2024 season, the WNBA is gearing up for its biggest branding and partnerships year yet. In April, Coach was announced as the official handbag partner of the WNBA. That same month, Sephora was unveiled as a founding partner of San Francisco’s Golden State Valkyries. In May, Covergirl became The Chicago Sky’s first cosmetics sponsor.
“If last season felt like proof of concept, this time feels more like an arms race,” says Beth Bentley, founder of brand strategy consultancy Tomorrowism. “With [players like] Caitlin Clark drawing record-breaking attention and brands securing major partnerships, the shift is clear and the game is on. This isn’t just exploratory investment anymore. It’s a serious brand-building opportunity.”
Coach has had its eyes on the WNBA for some time, says Kimberly Wallengren, Coach’s VP of marketing for North America, who notes that the partnership was over a year in the making. “We see this as an incredible opportunity to be a part of the conversation bringing the world of fashion, sports and culture closer together. The WNBA and their players have been instrumental changemakers in this sense,” she says.
Traditional merch products are also seeing an uptick. In May, 68 per cent more WNBA products were in stock compared with last year, according to retail intelligence firm EDITED, which highlights the maximising of SKUs to satisfy demand. Analysis of WNBA products in stock on 26 May reveals that Indiana Fever is the most stocked WNBA team, accounting for 13 per cent of all products, followed by New York Liberty (9 per cent) and Las Vegas Aces (8 per cent), EDITED found. Clark is the player with the most products stocked by retailers online, senior retail analyst Krista Corrigan notes, followed by Paige Bueckers and A’ja Wilson.
For brands, last season’s buzz amounted to a proof of concept. “As a team experiencing unprecedented momentum — on the court, in culture and in commerce — [New York Liberty] reflects the kind of impact we’ve always been striving for,” says Christine Gallagher, VP of marketing at Away. The luggage brand was hailed as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2025 — an indicator that it’s making the right marketing calls.
The benefits of a link-up with the WNBA extend beyond the financial, however. “As with any other sport, brands really have to dig in beyond the surface level and invest deeply — put in as much heart and soul as the players and the fans do,” says Tomorrowism’s Bentley, who also worked on Nike Women for many years. Brands need to be part of the action, not just play benefactor, she adds.
For Away, Gallagher says the aim is to rethink how brands activate around sports, centring culture, values and fan connection. “It’s not just about what happens on the court, it’s about the powerful stories, communities and movements taking shape around it.” On 17 May, the brand offered free co-branded luggage bags to fans who visited the store in Liberty gear. “From co-branded limited-edition product drops to immersive fan experiences, we’re just getting started,” she says.
On the court, off the court
Beyond team partnerships, brands are amping up their WNBA crossovers in the tunnel, too. There’s been a media uptick in WNBA attention — with comparable fashion opportunities in the NBA and other sports leagues from the NFL to F1. There’s money to be made in off-court appearances. Players Dearica Hamby (Los Angeles Sparks) and Isabelle Harrison (New York Liberty) have each worn custom Nike Jordan outfits embellished with Swarovski crystals. (Swarovski swiftly released both looks.) Others lean into high luxury brands, such as Angel Reese in Chanel and Sabrina Ionescu’s Bottega Veneta bag, spotted in her tunnel walks.
“With visibility around women’s basketball growing, so is the popularity of its newest and rising stars,” says Corrigan. “WNBA athletes are integrating more into the fashion and pop culture world.” Reese — the most followed WNBA player, per EDITED, with 4.9 million Instagram followers — attended her second Met Gala this year wearing Thom Browne. Cameron Brink just made the rounds online for her cover of Players, the new sports-fashion magazine launched by Carine Roitfeld. Brink told the magazine: “I definitely don’t let basketball define me solely anymore.”
To date, the majority of player-brand tie-ups via official partnerships have been with traditional sports incumbents such as Nike and Adidas. This leaves a big opportunity for fashion and beauty, with options including league or team-wide deals and player-specific engagements. There’s value in both, experts say. “Team deals offer legitimacy and scale, like the Liberty x Fenty Beauty collab. Player partnerships can deliver richer narrative and depth — the heat around Caitlin Clark’s Wilson line bears that out,” Bentley says. “The smartest brands might be able to traverse both.”
Coach is taking this 360 approach. As well as being an official league sponsor, the accessories brand is working with five players — Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics), Aneesah Morrow (Connecticut Sun) and Hailey Van Lith (Chicago Sky) — to amplify their stories during their rookie seasons. (Tunnel walks are also part of the strategy, albeit a smaller focus, Wallengren says.) “They are style icons both on the court and off, setting records, reshaping culture and inspiring the next generation.”
Bentley expects many more partnership announcements this season, along both avenues of opportunity. “The WNBA is a powerhouse human storytelling engine of drama, intrigue, adrenaline, emotion,” she says. “I expect brands will be really trying to read the room this year, timing drops around viral moments, tunnel fits, buzzer-beaters and playoff drama. It’ll be less about pressing go on a neatly choreographed campaign and more about a consistent, observant, real-time cultural presence.”
Many of the partnerships already announced are multi-year deals, implying sustained momentum, Corrigan flags. “We expect not only more league and team sponsorships from brands, but also more athlete partnerships,” she says. “This is just the beginning of the WNBA’s rise.”
Coach’s Wallengren is confident that this is just the beginning. “Being a partner with the league at this particular moment is such a great opportunity to help drive a new course in sport history and create cultural impact for generations to come,” she says.
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