The FOS Interview: New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke

The WNBA season is over. Its ending was pure magic.

A franchise-record 18,090 fans packed the Barclays Center for the league’s first Game 5 in a Finals series since 2019, for the winner-take-all matchup of what had already been a playoff series for the ages.

The New York Liberty captured their first WNBA title in franchise history.

Sabrina Ionescu’s last-second dagger to win Game 3 carved out a space in the annals of basketball history. The Minnesota Lynx, led by Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, and Kayla McBride, had played a brand of basketball somehow both unbelievably smooth and electric.

“I think this has been just great basketball, just so entertaining,” Collier told Front Office Sports before the game. “Objectively, this is a really fun series. When you’re in it, it’s very nerve-wracking, of course, but I think it’s great for the sport.”

At the beginning of the team's postseason run, FOS Editor-In-Chief Daniel Roberts sat down with New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke to discuss the impact of the new media deal, the 2020 "Wubble" Season, and why the Liberty were primed for sustained success behind a strong ownership group.

Clarke told FOS that owner Clara Wu Tsai's care and investment in the team is the reason the Liberty are champions.

Tsai took her moment on ESPN during the trophy ceremony to talk about investing in women’s sports.

“The first thing we wanted to do was bring the team to Barclays Center so that they could have a bigger stage. And then we wanted to give them facilities and performance and nutrition and everything that they deserved, because they’re such elite professional athletes,” Tsai said. “And look what can happen when you have an intention, and you put resources and care and attention to it.”

Holly Rowe supported Tsai’s comments, saying this result is “what happens when you invest in women.”

Recently, basketball fans were up in arms about the finances of the WNBA following a New York Post report saying the league will lose about $40 million in revenue this year, down from a Washington Post estimate of $50 million in June. It’s a fair question—if the WNBA is having such a record year, how is it losing so much money?

The explanation largely lies in the fact the WNBA’s new era is beginning in its old financial framework.

The league gets about $60 million annually from its media partners, but this year had no option but to start spending about $25 million a year on charter flights for its increasingly high-profile athletes.

A new team in Golden State and adding more games to the schedule will provide more revenue, but the $2.2 billion media-rights deal that begins in 2026 will be the real game-changer for the WNBA’s balance sheet.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert also says she wants to add one more expansion franchise by 2028.

Finally, a day after the Liberty's Finals win, WNBAPA leadership announced that they are opting out of the collective bargaining agreement.

The CBA, agreed to in 2020, was previously set to expire after the 2027 season but will now run out on Oct. 31, 2025. The league and the union have exactly a year to avoid a strike or lockout.?

In a statement, the union said it’s seeking a business model that reflects the players’ “true value” which includes higher salaries, enhanced working conditions, expanded healthcare and investments needed to further grow the league.

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