The WNBA has had its history of ups and downs. Today is one of the ups for the league. Let’s just say a Serious Up! The WNBA has now raised its largest-ever capital infusion and it is being represented as the largest ever for a women’s sports property. Thursday’s announcement featured new investors, as well as existing WNBA and NBA owners.

Thursday’s announcement by the league indicated that it is part of a multi-faceted financial growth strategy. The WNBA will seek new sources of revenue and accelerate growth. According to a CNBC report, the capital raise of $75 million which values the entire league and teams at $1 billion.

Collectors Dashboard is featuring the uses of capital and the list of new and existing owners in a bullet point format to more easily show the data. The WNBA has had sports cards issued over the years, but maybe this will also help bolster that effort (see below).

NIKE Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is one of the league’s current premier partners and inaugural WNBA Changemaker. NIKE made a significant equity investment in the WNBA which the company says will further deepen its support for women’s basketball and will enable the WNBA to elevate the marketing and storytelling of WNBA athletes.

The press release did outline how the proceeds are expected to be used, as follows:

• brand elevation and marketing;
• globalization of the WNBA;
• innovation, digital, and growth of consumer touchpoints;
• and human capital and operational optimization as part of an overall effort to address some of the league’s obstacles to growth and generating new revenue.

The press release also gave a detailed list of initial investors:

• Micky and Nick Arison, Carnival Corporation and Miami HEAT;
• Bill Cameron, CEO and President, American Fidelity, Dallas Wings;
• Swin Cash, WNBA legend and current New Orleans Pelicans Vice-President of Basketball Operations and Team Development;
• Baron Davis, NBA legend;
• Michael and Susan Dell, Dell Technologies and minority investors, San Antonio Spurs;
• Karen Finerman, CEO and Co-Founder, Metropolitan Capital Advisors;
• Pau Gasol, NBA legend and Member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission;
• Ginny Gilder, Seattle Storm;
• Dee Haslam and Whitney Johnson, Haslam Sports Group, Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew;
• Linda Henry, Boston Globe, Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club;
• Brad Hilsabeck, former CEO, Grantham, Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. and minority investor, Dallas Wings;
• Eric Holoman, President and CEO, EquiTrust Life Insurance, Los Angeles Sparks;
• Mark Walter, CEO, Guggenheim Partners, Los Angeles Sparks;
• Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder and President, Emerson Collective;
• Ted Leonsis, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Washington Mystics and Washington Wizards;
• James and Heather Murren, former Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International;
• NIKE, Inc.;
• Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University and 66th US Secretary of State;
• Angela Ruggiero, CEO and Co-Founder, Sports Innovation Lab;
• Herb and Steve Simon, Fever Basketball, LLC;
• and Joe and Clara Tsai, New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets.

This was the quote from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert:

We are incredibly fortunate to be able to capitalize on the current momentum around women’s sports and are grateful to the investors who have chosen to support the WNBA in an unprecedented way and to our team governors who continue to invest in the players and teams.

Our strategy is to deploy this capital to continue to drive the league’s brand as a bold, progressive entertainment and media property that embodies diversity, promotes equity, advocates for social justice, and stands for the power of women. Having just completed our historic 25th season, with this access to additional capital, we are setting the WNBA up for a successful future and it represents a sign and signal of the future direction of women’s sports as a whole.