Abe Arredondo-USA TODAY Sports
“Attendance and ticket sales are the rocket fuel that feeds the growth of this league,” is an expression National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman has grown fond of in 2023.
Berman first used the phrase after this year’s historic opening weekend when over 90,000 fans — or an average of about 15,000 fans per match — attended the season’s first six games, shattering the previous record average of 10,150 set in 2022. Most recently, Berman used the phrase during the announcement of the league’s new media rights deal at championship weekend in San Diego, while she discussed the importance of broadcasting in local markets.
Ticket sales are clearly a priority for the commissioner and the league, which makes sense considering that they are still typically the largest source of revenue for each NWSL club. While most professional sports leagues generate the majority of their revenue through broadcast rights, it’s unclear whether NWSL clubs will see any of the $60 million…
