WNBA inks media rights deal worth more than $2billion... after superstar rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese's massive rise in popularity

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The WNBA's massive surge in popularity is finally paying off. 

The league has inked a new media rights package worth about $2.2 billion over 11 years, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reported on Tuesday. 

It nets out to approximately $200 million annually, roughly four times the WNBA’s current media deals with Disney, Ion, CBS and Amazon, which are valued at $50 million annually.

The new package was negotiated by the NBA amid its own mammoth rights talks, during which the league reached an agreement with Disney, NBC and Amazon on an 11-year, approximately $75 billion set of contracts.

As part of the deal, each network - ESPN, NBC and Amazon - will have their own WNBA package. 

The WNBA has inked a new media rights package worth about $2.2 billion over 11 years

A superstar rookie class, led by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, has given the sport a boost 

Although the deals were reportedly approved by the NBA’s board of governors earlier this week, it has not been publicly confirmed due to a hold up with TNT's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. 

The media conglomerate, which is one of the current rights holders, maintains that it has matching rights for a NBA rights package. 

However, Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet decided whether to exercise those rights. 

According to the Athletic, the WNBA 'anticipates it will sell two other rights packages in addition to the ones it has already made agreements for, and projects to bring in another $60 million annually in total in those additional deals.'

It would allow the league to ride the wave of increased interest in the sport over the past few months, thanks in part to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and the 2024 WNBA rookie class.  

The WNBA package was negotiated by the NBA amid its own $75 billion rights talks

The league's viewership has increased this season, along with merchandise and attendance

It has also built in protective measures should the sport continue to grow and the deals become undervalued. 

The media partners have agreed to revisit the deals in 'good faith talks after three years that could reprice them to reflect the league’s growth.'

Several records have already been smashed in this season alone, with the W announcing last month that more than 400,000 fans attended games in May - the most in 26 years. 

Additionally, the league's viewership has increased greatly since Clark and Reese's arrival.

Across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and CBS, WNBA games are averaging 1.32 million viewers - which is nearly triple last season's standard of 462,200 viewers.