Going on guys, it’s your boy John Eli Liquidator coming back with another video. And it looks like there is some interesting information coming out about NBA investors, the future of the WNBA, and whether Caitlyn Clark will actually have a 2026 season. Guys, for this one here, we got to go all the way up to New York. Let’s get it. Let’s go.

We have to talk about this, man. We’re about a week and some change out from getting some information about this CBA process. Now, we know that they went ordining for the WNBA. A potential strike looms, threatening to put the entire 2026 season on ice, and the silent explanation for this crisis isn’t coming from a press conference, but from the league’s own shocking financial records.

This isn’t just about a few disgruntled players. It’s about decades of losses, impatient investors, and an uncomfortable truth brought into sharp focus by one player’s explosive popularity. The league is staring down a precipice, and the answers to why are far more dire than anyone initially realized. Analysts coming on media platforms are letting us know they just don’t know how much longer the WNBA will be in existence.

Now, I know a lot of us, including myself, I am a new WNBA fan. I didn’t know about this league until Caitlyn Clark got here. I’mma keep it real. Ain’t no ducking, ain’t no hiding from me. I came when greatness came. Now, I’m pretty sure there’s many of you that’s in the same situation as me. So, I did not know this league been going through growing pains for the last 30 damn years. How the hell do you go through growing pains for 30 years?

Right now, the WNBA is in a critical CBA extension period, a 6-week window that allows players to call a strike against the league. While no official strike has been declared yet, multiple players are reportedly holding out, creating immense tension behind the scenes. Initially, the internet, with its quick judgments and loud voices, pointed fingers directly at Caitlyn Clark, suggesting her influence was at the heart of the standoff. However, WNBA players themselves never confirmed these specific accusations, leaving the true identities of those holding out shrouded in mystery.

Hey fan, I didn’t know about this league until Caitlyn Clark got here. I’mma keep it real. Ain’t no ducking, ain’t no hiding from me. I came when greatness came. Now, I’m pretty sure there’s many of you that’s in the same situation as me. So, I did not know this league been going through growing pains for the last 30 damn years. How the hell do you go through growing pains for 30 years? Please, please explain that to me. And then how the hell do you not turn a profit for 30 years?

The real story runs far deeper than individual player actions, revealing a systemic issue that analysts now openly question. Experts on media platforms are no longer whispering. They’re shouting that they simply don’t know how much longer the WNBA can continue to exist. This isn’t a new problem. For three decades, the league has been mired in what’s euphemistically called growing pains. But how can a business be growing for 30 years without turning a profit? It’s a question that exposes a profound underlying crisis that few were willing to confront until now.

To me, this is just me cuz I didn’t own several businesses and uh on the outside looking in with my business goggles. I think the WNBA is bankrupt. Oh, I think they hella bankrupt. I think they been bankrupt. I think it’s so much it’s so bankrupt that the owners is just using the WNBA as a tax write off. They got to be, they got to be. It got to be a tax write off. It is dead cap over there, bro. It got to be. Could you imagine being a WNBA owner?

From a business perspective, looking at the WNBA’s history, the conclusion is stark and unavoidable. The league is bankrupt. Not just struggling, but deeply, irrevocably in the red. It appears to be so financially unviable that many owners are allegedly using their investment in the WNBA as little more than a tax write-off. This isn’t just speculation. It’s a cold, hard assessment based on consistent, decades-long failure to generate meaningful profit. This dead cap situation has been silently draining resources and investor patience for far too long.

Could you imagine being a WNBA owner and you’re sitting there like, damn. Year after year after year, well, hell, it’s just turning into a tax write off at this point because they haven’t turned a profit. Then greatness came, which is Caitlyn Clark. Now Caitlyn Clark comes, everybody forget the last 30 damn years. How is that? Now y’all want revenue share, profit share. To me, this is just me.

Why don’t you just imagine being a WNBA owner year after year watching your investment dwindle, failing to turn a profit. At some point, that venture transforms from a passion project into a mere accounting entry, a convenient way to offset other taxable gains. This scenario becomes the only logical explanation for why entities continue to fund a league that hasn’t made money in 30 years. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Caitlyn Clark arrived. Her presence single-handedly erased three decades of financial struggle from public memory, temporarily shifting the focus from ruin to revenue.

We got to talk about this. So, NBA investors are looking like they’re ready to pull the plug on the WNBA. It says WNBA will lose $40 million this season and investors are growing impatient. They’ve been impatient. While the WNBA is getting sold out crowds from the finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx. Now, this is from a year or two ago. It says the NBA owners nearly 60% of the league. When one combines the NBA owners’ personal stake in WNBA teams, the WNBA itself and the amount rises to 75%.

But the temporary buzz couldn’t hide the deep-seated issues forever. The whispers turned to shouts as NBA investors grew impatient, reportedly ready to pull the plug on the WNBA entirely. This season alone, the league is projected to lose a staggering $40 million. Such a monumental loss, even amidst renewed interest in sold out crowds for games like the New York Liberty versus Minnesota Lynx finals from a year or two ago, signals a financial hemorrhage that simply cannot be sustained indefinitely.

Two billion dollar media is right there. See, the media rights deal for the W comes this year. I think this is just my personal opinion. I think that’s why they’re holding out. The ladies want some of that $2 billion media right deal. Here’s the thing. We don’t know how the media right deal is going to look because viewership is down. My viewership still down. Certain creators getting their views back, but the audience so wishy-washy. Hell, it makes you not even want to cover the W. I just got to be for real. I just got to be real.

The NBA’s financial entanglement with the WNBA is profound, making these losses even more critical. NBA owners collectively hold nearly 60% of the WNBA. When their personal stakes and individual WNBA teams are added, that figure skyrockets to 75%. A source with direct knowledge of the numbers confirmed that NBA team owners have poured hundreds of millions into the WNBA since its inception in 1996.

The WNBA owes the NBA so much that any significant windfall from new deals will be absorbed for years before the league truly benefits. The league should have been gone.

The WNBA is bankrupt. They’re bankrupt, bro. And they need to file chapter something at this point. The owners are trying—I get owners that they’re trying to get y’all something but at this point y’all acting like y’all been just the hottest thing since sliced bread and that just not is the case.

Y’all been operating as a loss. Now y’all talk about all these great people and all these people that came before Caitlyn. Well, if they were so great, why y’all ain’t making no money? Why haven’t y’all made no money now? This is no dist.

Last year alone, the WNBA was projected to lose $50 million, a forecast widely reported by various media outlets months prior. This isn’t a one-off hit. It’s a consistent guaranteed annual loss that has plagued the league. The promise of a massive $2 billion media rights deal set to kick in starting in 2026 was supposed to be the gamechanger. However, this very deal now appears to be a double-edged sword, driving the current player holdouts and potentially exacerbating the crisis instead of solving the underlying contention.

The contention is clear. Players want a piece of that projected $2 billion media rights pie. It’s a natural desire given the magnitude of the deal and the potential for life-changing earnings. However, the exact structure of this deal and its actual impact remain uncertain. Viewership, despite the hype surrounding new stars, has actually been down. This inconsistent audience engagement makes securing and leveraging such a massive media deal far more precarious than it appears on paper.

Challenge the very premise of player demands. A quick search on Google confirms the WNBA’s dire financial state. It is generally not profitable. The league operates at a significant annual loss, heavily subsidized by the NBA. Estimates for these annual losses range from $10 million to an astonishing $50 million. The New York Post article from 2024-2025 further cemented this reality, stating, “These losses are guaranteed every year. This isn’t a bump in the road. It’s the fundamental operating model of a league perpetually in the red.”

Despite a surging interest and increased revenue from big names like Caitlyn Clark, the core profitability remains elusive. While some argue that the league’s true profitability is closer than portrayed due to undervaluation in new revenue streams, the historical record tells a different story. Since its launch in 1997, the WNBA has never been profitable, relying almost entirely on NBA funding. This reliance underscores the tax write-off theory and highlights the league’s deep financial dependency.

Historically, reported losses hovered around $10 million annually. Yet in 2024, these losses potentially surged to $40 million to $50 million. While revenue projects are near hundred million to $200 million due to increased interest, the expenses have remained even higher, keeping the league firmly in the red. This continuous deficit despite significant boosts in interest and visibility reinforces the harsh reality—the WNBA is bleeding money and the current trajectory suggests no immediate turnaround.

The speaker’s blunt assessment cuts to the chase. There is no saving the W. They’re running negative. The league should have been gone.

This perspective argues that the WNBA is effectively bankrupt and should have filed for Chapter something long ago. It’s a harsh truth, but one that highlights the unsustainable nature of their financial operations.

The owners, despite their efforts to keep the league afloat, are facing an uphill battle against decades of deep-seated financial woes that even unprecedented popularity can’t instantly fix. The frustration is palpable when considering player demands for revenue and profit sharing. The argument questions the sudden shift in focus. Why don’t you just get your money and play basketball? For years, players weren’t making millions. Now, with the potential for a $1 million max cap or $500,000 guaranteed, the focus immediately shifts to profit sharing.

This perspective suggests Connect, questioning why profit wasn’t a driving concern during the 30 years of consistent losses, only emerging with the league’s recent financial hope. This isn’t to disrespect the talent or contributions of players who came before Caitlyn Clark. However, a critical question arises. If those past players were truly great and the league was thriving, why wasn’t it making money? Why, after three damn decades, is the WNBA still operating at a loss?

The speaker challenges the narrative that past eras were financially successful, arguing that if they were, the league wouldn’t be in its current precarious state, constantly needing bailouts. The current financial turmoil and the players’ demands for a share of the impending $2 billion media deal create a complex high-stakes negotiation. The WNBA is at a pivotal crossroads, grappling with its past failures while trying to capitalize on a future that is anything but guaranteed.

The tension between historical losses and future revenue potential is creating an environment where a strike becomes a very real possibility, pushing the 2026 season into a dangerous zone of uncertainty. The arrival of Caitlyn Clark has undeniably injected unprecedented excitement and visibility into the WNBA. Her games draw massive audiences, driving revenue and media attention to levels previously unimaginable. However, this surge in popularity has inadvertently shone a harsh spotlight on the league’s deep-seated financial vulnerabilities.

The increased scrutiny and heightened expectations reveal just how fragile the WNBA’s foundation truly is. Despite the record-breaking interest, the crisis facing the WNBA is a multifaceted dilemma blending decades of financial mismanagement with the sudden overwhelming pressure of newfound fame. The league, long subsidized and overlooked, is now forced to confront its deepest flaws under the brightest lights.

The CBA negotiations aren’t just about player salaries. They’re about the very survival of a league that has never stood on its own two feet and the uncomfortable truths Caitlyn Clark’s arrival inadvertently forced into the public consciousness.

So, why does the WNBA crisis put the 2026 season on ice? It’s not a single explanation from Caitlyn Clark, but the chilling confluence of a league that’s been bankrupt for 30 years, impatient NBA investors, massive annual losses, and players demanding a share of a future media deal that might not even save them. The WNBA’s fundamental inability to turn a profit, exposed so starkly by its current predicament, paints a grim picture for any season, let alone one just around the corner.

The WNBA stands at a critical juncture, facing a future that is as uncertain as it is potentially lucrative. The arrival of stars like Caitlyn Clark has offered a glimpse of what could be. But the financial realities of three decades without profit loom large, casting a long shadow over the promise of a $2 billion media deal. The 2026 season hangs precariously, a stark reminder that even unprecedented popularity cannot erase a bankrupt past. The choices made now amidst player holdouts and investor impatience will determine if the WNBA can finally escape the red or if it will truly be put on ice.