Women’s basketball became the top-earning sport
Women’s basketball has officially surpassed soccer as the top-earning women’s sport.
According to Deloitte’s 2025 global report on women’s elite sports, basketball is projected to generate $1.03 billion this year, representing 44 percent of total women’s sports revenue. Soccer follows at $820 million, or about 35 percent.
The numbers confirm what fans already sense, women’s basketball has entered a new commercial era. Attendance records are being shattered, merchandise sales are rising, and social engagement is rewriting sponsorship models.
Coverage from ESPN and Reuters further highlights the scale of this transformation.
Yet, for thousands of athletes outside the media spotlight, one question remains: how do they benefit from this momentum?
That is where Thravos comes in.
The billion-dollar leap
The women’s sports market continues to expand, with Deloitte projecting $2.35 billion in total revenue in 2025, up 25 percent from 2024. Basketball’s $1.03 billion share signals that the sport has matured into a financial powerhouse.
Source: Deloitte UK press release.
Behind this growth are cultural and commercial factors:
- Record-breaking media coverage of NCAA and professional women’s basketball
- Explosive WNBA viewership and merchandise sales
- Significant brand investments fueled by authenticity and athlete-led content
Stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have catalyzed this rise, turning fan attention into measurable revenue through sold-out arenas, sponsorship deals, and social engagement.
But Thravos ensures that the ripple effects reach every athlete, not just the household names.
Why basketball surged ahead
Star power and storytelling
The defining shift in women’s basketball is the new model of visibility.
Athletes are now their own storytellers and digital franchises. NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) has empowered players to monetize their presence earlier than ever.
But only a fraction of athletes have the infrastructure to maintain visibility beyond the court.
That’s where Thravos changes the game.
Athletes use Thravos to connect directly with fans, share training content, and earn through verified engagement. Visibility no longer depends on the algorithm or league spotlight.
Sponsorship momentum and infrastructure
Commercial partnerships are driving this era of growth.
According to SportsPro Media, WNBA sponsorship revenue hit $76 million in 2025, up 52 percent since 2022.
SponsorUnited’s 2024–25 partnerships report confirms expanded brand participation across apparel, finance, and media categories.
Teams like the Indiana Fever are leading this charge, generating 50 percent higher sponsorship revenue year-over-year, per GlobalData analysis.
Thravos amplifies this commercial ecosystem by giving individual athletes direct visibility, real-time engagement analytics, and monetization tools that brands already recognize as valuable.
The athlete visibility gap
Despite billion-dollar momentum, visibility remains concentrated at the top.
Athletes at smaller schools or in overseas leagues often see their audience disappear when they change teams or sustain injuries.
Thravos was built to solve that by making visibility portable.
They can:
- Training clips and behind-the-scenes updates
- Offer paid subscriptions to exclusive content
- Present verified analytics to sponsors and scouts
With Thravos, every athlete becomes a measurable brand.
Turning visibility into equity
Visibility is now the most valuable performance metric.
McKinsey’s report on women’s sports found that 67 percent of fans follow athletes before they follow teams.
Thravos converts that attention into verifiable data athletes can own and monetize.
Each engagement, from fan challenges to livestreams, becomes part of a reputation score athletes can use when negotiating sponsorships.
This trend aligns with the PwC Sports Outlook 2025, which highlights data-driven sponsorships as the defining model of the decade.
Growth beyond the elite
Basketball’s boom extends far beyond the WNBA.
College, high school, and international competitions are all seeing unprecedented fan growth.
A Marketing Brew report noted that 48 percent of new women’s sports fans discovered players through social media before ever watching a live broadcast.
Thravos empowers these long-tail athletes by rewarding engagement quality, not follower count.
A consistent community presence matters more than one viral moment.
By building tools that let athletes grow from local hero to global brand, Thravos democratizes opportunity in a way no other platform can.
What this means for brands and fans
For brands, platforms like Thravos deliver something rare, authenticity with measurable ROI.
For fans, it’s participation, not just consumption.
Fans can subscribe to athlete channels, join training challenges, and earn tokenized perks that reward engagement.
This mirrors the trend outlined by the World Economic Forum: businesses investing early in women’s sports gain stronger loyalty and cultural impact.
Thravos makes those connections permanent.
The future of athlete ownership
Women’s basketball surpassing soccer in revenue is a sign of momentum, but ownership is the next frontier.
As the market grows, so does the need for athlete-centered infrastructure that keeps value in the athlete’s hands.
Thravos does exactly that.
It aligns fans, brands, and athletes within one transparent system of visibility, participation, and verified impact.
The next decade of women’s sports will not just be about bigger audiences. It will be about better ownership.
With Thravos, every athlete has the infrastructure to claim it.