WNBA Welcomes Paige Bueckers; Dallas Stars CEO Brad Alberts

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1:24Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. This is the business of sports. The business of sports can be intimidating or hard for a starter to break into. We really appreciate when our owners are actually there, you know, with us through the journey. Teams, ours especially, have been very intentional to diversify at all levels of the company. I think we're in the golden years for the NFL and college football. Our demographic reach has continued to expand. This is going to be really unlocking the streaming platform for sports fans. Sports valuations are rising. We'll see when they peak. You don't have to be the best in your sport to make a whole ton of money.

2:04Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr along with Vanessa Bernomo. Scarlett Fu is on assignment and Damian Sassauer will be back next week. Coming up on the show, we talk hockey and hear from the CEO of the Dallas Stars, Brad Albert. Across the line, Graham looking for help. Has it Lindell. He scores! 2-0 Dallas. Plus, we'll talk youth sports and the NFL's big plans for flag football with former NFL player and now CEO of RCX Sports, Izel Reese. All that and more is on the way on the Bloomberg Business of Sports.

2:48But first, the WNBA wastes no time coming out of March Madness. This past week, we saw the WNBA draft. With the first pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, the Dallas Wings select Paige Beckers, University of Connecticut. Bloomberg U.S. sports business reporter Randall Williams was at the WNBA draft and did some reporting on how the WNBA Players Union is still waiting for the league to start talks with them about raising player wages. Randall is here now to talk with us about the latest and to preview the next WNBA season. Old friend Randall Williams, welcome back to the Bloomberg Business Sports. That was a nice intro.

3:32That's one of the more different ones you've given me. I appreciate it, and thank you for having me here. Officially from the UN, man. That's where I got it. Hey, we just kind of wrapped up the WNBA draft. Paige Beckers, man. UConn is like, we're going to miss you. For sure. And hats off to the WNBA because this year's draft, I think, was a significant improvement on last year. They upgraded the space. It was more feasible. It was nicer, more red tape. But as the league grows, they have to make adjustments. The draft is always a celebratory night. That is a lot of fun. I was going to say, you got to set the scene for us a little bit because, you know, I was wondering about that.

4:10How were they going to build on last year, continuously build? I mean, we've both been to them before. You've been to NBA drafts. I mean, it wasn't the Barclays Center, I'm sure, but does it look like it's going to start getting up to that level of fervor that the NBA and NFL drafts get? Yeah, I think they're going to stay at the shed a little bit. Now, I do think that over time that they will grow. The reason I think they'll stay at the shed, of course, is because like Caitlin Clark is obviously this huge figure. Everything that she touches essentially turns to gold. And I think she'll be that figure for a long time.

4:42But let's say that someone comes along and is dunking in a way that, you know, women's basketball has never seen and attracts people to the game similar the way that Caitlin does. Like that would, I think, bring a bigger audience and, you know, it might give them reason to expand in Barclays. But for now, like you think about the stars that are here right now. We just had Paige. There will be Juju. There will be Hannah Hildrago. Things like that. I think that they'll stay there and the audience might increase. But who knows? Who knows? We'll see. Well, I think it is increasing because, you know, it's easy to talk about Caitlin and everybody.

5:17But we're talking about Paige Beckers. Of course. And, you know, you've got to be in the sport to understand where we're going with that. I think that is significant that, you know, we're talking about other players in the WNBA. Yeah, I think it is a pivotal year for them. Obviously, a good portion of the national TV games are Caitlin Clark focused. But the ability for the league and their partners, and I think media has some responsibility on this as well, to build up other athletes so that the league is not so dependent on Kaitlin is very, very important. Obviously, there's a history between Paige and Kaitlin playing.

5:54I think that was the final four last year. We'll see them play again. And there's just a lot of history. It can't just be Angel Kaitlin. You have to establish Asia and Breonna Stewart so that people know them. And granted, what I mean when I say established is that you want to promote them the same way. You don't just want it to be Kaitlin, Kaitlin, Kaitlin, because I think that's how you end up with players unhappy. And that was one of the other things, you know, I was interested to hear about because obviously when Kaitlin came in last year in, you know, the draft and all that, she wasn't the only one that people were paying attention to with Angel Reese.

6:29And they had a really strong overall class, rookie class last year. Was this year kind of just the Paige Becker show at the draft, do you think? Or were other stars created throughout the night, do you think? I think that this year was more basketball-focused than last year was. Something that happens when stars come into leagues is the aura that comes with them. And sometimes that aura isn't always basketball-related. And with Kaitlin and Angel, I think that their rivalry dating back to Iowa and LSU and sort of the tension that came with it from both sides of the spectrum was a discussion. And this year, it's like whenever you hear these players being discussed, it's just more so about their college careers and how they fit into these teams.

7:12And they did that last year, too. But I think this year that there isn't as much tension with the WNBA draft. And as usual, you have beautiful work that's on our terminal. And you have just written an article with the WNBA season. It's just around a month away. the players union, let's just say there are some issues there. Yes, as we know, the CBA is currently being negotiated. The union opted out of it in November. My sources tell me they sent something over to the league in December that had not been responded to. Now, when WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert got to the podium, she said this report was inaccurate, it, but also said that they had received a proposal and that it had that they had received it recently.

8:02She did not get into the specifics of the time frame and recently is obviously subjective. You know, recent to you, if I got married yesterday and you heard about it six months later, that's news to you. But that wouldn't be news to me. So I think that they are still negotiating. There's a long way to go. We'll have more news on that in months to go. And Randall, what is it, you know, in these proposals, have you say or whatever, that the WNBA PA is asking for that is giving the league tension? Is it just the higher salaries they're asking for or what is it that's going to that they're asking for that could possibly bring the talks to a halt?

8:38Well, it really remains to be seen because when you ask the WNBA commissioner about it, she just doesn't say much in terms of the detail. I asked her, what is a fair deal? And she said, you know, we're not going to negotiate publicly. Now, what the union has said is they want a new economic model. They want higher pay. They want better retirement benefits. They want minimum standards upgraded. That's facilities and stadiums and things like that. They want they have made a very firm statement from the beginning. And if you compare this to, let's say, NBA, CBA negotiations, a lot of these conversations in NBA, like you think of luxury tax and things that are really in the weeds for fans.

9:13No, this is like the essence of the WNBA. And like there has been some speculation about if they're headed towards a lockout. It's way too early to say that right now. But the WNBPA has been aggressive from the moment that they opted out. That statement that they said and their phrasing saying this is business is what I would consider aggressive. And how they speak to each other, how they negotiate is important because obviously we all agree that WNBA players are underpaid. And this economic model, the way that it has been displayed and shown to people is like, oh, the WNBA doesn't make any money.

9:50Well, you just signed a new media deal that is$2 billion. It could reach three if they add more partners. And when you talk about all this new money that's coming into that, the players want to share. Now, what is fair for the players and what is fair for the league so that the league continues to grow and be as successful as it has been? We're going to find out. Now, that begins in 2026. And that deal about the media deal, it's about four times more than the previous agreement. Yep. And it'll be with ESPN, Amazon and NBC. And the league is considering adding more media partners that could push it to three billion.

10:27But it's a huge increase from one to the next. It's just about, from my perspective, like how big? When we talk about the last CBA, the highest WNBA salary doubled. Well, when the media deal quadruples or it gets a lot bigger, then the players get a lot bigger. And that just isn't for the WNBA. You think about NFL contracts or NBA contracts. Think about what a supermax is right now versus what it was five or six years ago. These numbers are astronomical. for the WNBA and its players. I'm sure that they will get a raise. It's just about how much and what do the players want that raise to be. Right.

11:02And also about revenue sharing, right? Because like you just mentioned, they want a cut of it, but they've never technically gotten that cut before because they've never been able to unlock revenue sharing under this last CBA because it was very complicated to unlock. Can you talk about that? And if that's something that has to happen for them to get those bigger contracts? Well, there are a lot of different models that work for this or that can work for this. But to me, it's the negotiation is about what these sides are willing to accept. It's a give and take. And as far as the revenue sharing model, there aren't a lot of specifics as to how the WNBA's business works outside of, you know, how the ownership is set up where you have some NBA owners involved.

11:47You have some owners who don't own NBA teams. And then you have the change makers who have invested in the league as well. And so who's getting the revenue? Where is it coming from? Is it the media? Is it the players? Where is this money coming from and how much do the players want? If you think about it from NBA, NFL, MLB, these unions try to get as close to 50 % as they can. The WNBA is not close to that right now. And with respect to that, let's add some context that these leagues are over, most of these leagues are over 100 years old or close to 70 years old. The WNBA is 30 years old. It had a much different start than the NFL, the NBA, the MLB, all of these leagues.

12:28And granted, it is the oldest women's professional sports league out there. So I think from a fan perspective, from a journalist perspective, people are like, OK, you're the oldest. You've been around the block the longest. We expect to see progress. and we're going to find out what progress looks like over the course of the summer and especially in the fall the nba playoff season early early early and i know everybody's trying to look at the marquee matchups and of course we all know it is the knicks against the pistons and i see the look but in your opinion it's where do you see this season going because you've got so many very good teams out there.

13:11I think the best case scenario for the NBA is that there is a point of tension in the peak of the playoffs. Like, it doesn't matter where, but there has to be some tension. If you remember last year in the finals between the Mavericks and the Celtics, there wasn't a lot of tension. Like, the tension was really if Luka could guard and if he could stay in the game to keep the Mavs alive. And Kyrie obviously didn't perform to the best of his abilities. But at some point, like I went to game one and it was like, OK, in order for this game to be close, Luke is going to have to score 60. He didn't. And they lost and they lost in five for this year's playoffs.

13:45There are a number of teams and a number of markets that will attract viewers. But, you know, are the series going to be competitive? Are the Celtics going to dominate? Are the Cavs going to dominate? And will people tune in to watch stars like stars that aren't LeBron, Steph and KD? He's not even in the playoffs this year. So we'll see. Randall the man with the handle Williams you are the man thank you sir for coming back old friend on the business of sports appreciate you for having me as always up next we head to Texas and talk with Bloomberg Dallas bureau chief Julie Fine about her conversation with the CEO of the NHL's Dallas Stars for Vanessa Perdomo I'm Michael Barr you're listening to the Bloomberg business of sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world.

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15:56Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports. I'm Michael Barr along with Vanessa Perdomo. Scarlett Fu is on assignment and Damian Sassauer. We'll be back next week. Coming up, we'll hear a special conversation with the NHL's Dallas Stars president and CEO Brad Alberts. He spoke with Bloomberg Dallas Bureau Chief Julie Fine. But before we get there, we've got to talk about the Mavericks. This week, Dallas Mavericks CEO Nico Harrison was part of a media event where he doubled down on his reasoning for trading away superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers.

16:46a move that fans are still reeling from. Bloomberg Dallas Bureau Chief Julie Fine was in the room for the meeting, and she is here now to talk with us about what she learned. My favorite thing. Thank you so much for having me. You know a lot about the Dallas Mavericks because you were there for a media event when the GM, Nico Harrison, was giving a news conference about it. But I'm sure a lot of people were wondering about the Luka Doncic trade to the Lakers. And as for the Mavericks, let's be honest, they're still kind of reeling from it. Well, I think the whole situation they're reeling from, I mean, this was a devastated fan base.

17:33I mean, you almost have to live here to understand. Luka meant a lot to this community. He was very active in the community. So I think it was the shock. He leaves in the middle of the night. So this was really they spoke after the trade. Nico Harrison spoke the day after the trade. We have not heard from him since. So he sat with the with the CEO as well. And it was just an interest. Like it was I think you left with still many questions about really why this happened. I mean, Nico Harrison over and over again said defense wins championships and they're trying to build the team that will win for many years.

18:12to come. However, last year with Luca, the team went to the finals. So a lot of questions still remaining after this one hour. I don't know what you would really call it. Select media were invited. There were no cameras, no recordings, and no recordings allowed publicly, I should say. And so it was just an event like none I've ever been to before in working in news and being sent to, you know, fill in and cover sports many times. That is a statement, Julie. It's an event like you've never been to before in your entire career of covering media. I mean, that's a big statement. You know, I looked over the transcript and obviously he's constantly, he's just bombarded with questions about the trade, obviously, as it should be.

19:01And this is the GM's job to take these hard questions. But I want you to tell us like what the tone of it was like in the room. Did he appear frustrated by all these questions? You know, do you think he actually believes in himself that it was a good trade? I think I think he clearly believes it was the right trade. I mean, he said it over and over. I mean, I asked him if he had any regrets about how the whole thing was handled. And basically, he said, you know, he doesn't have any regrets. He thought this was the best in the interest of the Dallas Mavericks. I would say the room was quiet. It was a round table type of setup.

19:41It was kind of in a boardroom. So he was in the front along with Rick Welts. And it was he seemed very, very I don't want him. The word mellow can be construed in so many different ways. He seemed very calm. I mean, there was a couple slightly heated moments, but he just kept going back to I don't think I can count the amount of times he said defense wins championships. I mean, they had to answer a lot of questions, too, on the business side of this year's season ticket prices went up. So they had to answer a lot of questions about it. But he really I hate to use the term double down, but he really doubled down on this being the right thing for the Mavericks.

20:22I think there's still many questions about how it was handled and the emotion of the city. Like the city has not come around. you know it was interesting what he said about had everybody seen what the team could have been you know anthony davis coming and he only played for two and a half quarters so you really only seen saw the team together with kairi as well so he kept saying you know if you had seen what you had seen for two and a half quarters but that i don't think that's at this point sold the fan base either like two and a half quarters is not going to get people through this at this point Well, I think that you hit the key point.

20:57If Anthony Davis was not injured, at least the Maverick fan base could see the value of the trade. But you only, you know, it was just right after that, that he got injured and it's like, oh man, injured rather. And it's like, oh my goodness. Well, I think the team really did somewhat feel like if you would, you didn't get a chance to see the trade, really, and what it was going to do for the team. And they really tried to point that out. Like people may be a little less frustrated if that team had been able to play healthy. But I mean, that team was crushed by injuries all year. So, I mean, this was a like a quadruple whammy for the Mavs in terms of the ticket pricing, losing Luka, everybody being injured.

21:45Now they're in a play in last year. You know, they were in the finals and just I think Luka, I don't know if I mean, I don't have to ask this. Of course, you all saw it. When Luka came back to Dallas. I mean, he had his head in his hands crying with a towel and you could see the fans every time he got a basket, they were cheering and he's playing for the Lakers. So it's just been just soul crushing, I would say, for the fan base here. Yeah, I mean, it's going to take some time to get over that. And I don't even know if winning a championship would really, really recover from losing your star for that long.

22:24Actually, I want to talk about how it parallels to the WNBA now that the Dallas Wings got the number one draft pick and Paige Beckers. And I actually saw a few fans online saying, okay, Paige is now our new Luka. You know, what's the excitement for the Dallas Wings right now? People are so excited for the wings. We talked to Greg Bibb last week. He came in and it was the Friday before. So, I mean, clearly they were going to pick Paige, but he couldn't say it. There's so much excitement surrounding her. I mean, she comes here with high expectations for sure. And you got to remember the wings were in last place last year, but eventually they're getting a new stadium.

23:02And it's really exciting, I think, for basketball fans. But I just think fans. It's really exciting for this city. And I think certainly there's an opportunity right now with the basketball fan base. But I think they would have been there for Paige all the way through. It was interesting that this news conference by the Mavs day after Paige was chosen. A lot of discussion about that as well. but I think the fan base here is thrilled that she's coming here I mean serious excitement for her from the court to the ice because you also got a chance to talk with Dallas Stars president and CEO Brad Albert Brad Albert is a really you know interesting guy he comes in they've dropped a ton in a row going into the playoffs but they're still I mean they still had a great great great season you know the last two years they went to the Western Conference Finals so high hopes for this team.

23:57And I'll tell you, this city could really get excited about a champion right now. He's interesting on many different levels, but what they're doing in terms of media rights, every fan here can now get games streaming for free. That's a decision they made. So he talked about the team and the economics of that as well. And he also talked about, you know, foreign relations and how that, you know, can play into hockey. Our thanks to Julie Fine for joining us. She's Bloomberg Dallas Bureau Chief. Now let's take a listen to Julie's conversation with Dallas Stars President and CEO Brad Alberts. I want to talk a little bit about the business of hockey, the eyes on it, and how you're attracting more.

24:40Well, I think success on the ice is a big differentiator, you know, right away. And I think the fact that we've been really, really good here for the last couple years has really helped develop, you know, the next generation of fans, both old and young. And I think it's certainly things that we're focused on every day in our office. How do we continue to grow at the grassroots level? And how do we get to grow at the mature level? And having a good team, there's nothing better. You're in your second stint here with the Dallas Stars. And we talked a lot earlier about branding and how important that is for a team.

25:13You did something no major league professional team has done yet. You started direct-to-consumer for free streaming of all your games. Can you talk about that business strategy, how you came up with that decision, and what it's been like implementing it? Yeah, we're crazy. No, I think, well, it was a byproduct of the RSN dilemma that we were faced with two years ago. And I think we were fortunate. We stumbled across an incredible company in APMC. Their leader, Neil Gruninger, has done an unbelievable job building this technology to be able to do this. And we really, you know, as we sat down, did our due diligence with them, we got more and more comfortable as we went along.

25:55We ran tests. And our group is not afraid to do big things. And certainly I preach that all the time, doing big things. And this is a big thing. And we wanted to pioneer it. We looked forward to pioneering it. We knew that there were going to be issues that we'd have to work through. We've done those together with APMC. and we are strong believers that streaming is going to be a big part of local sports into the future. This again, though, is free economically. How long can a team sustain that? Well, that's going to be part of what we evaluate and look at. Our short-term goals are not going to change.

26:25We have no desire to change that philosophy in the short term. That doesn't mean that we're not going to pivot to it at some point down the road. But right now, going into next season, things are going to be the same as they were this year. We've had a really good first year, over a million downloads for Victory Plus, a number of other teams coming on board, looking to come on board, other content. So we're excited about the future. We think you need two good full years to really get a good understanding of what we're dealing with, and probably a new normal will appear. When you look at the Hockey League of scores heading into the playoffs, but in general, it is such an international sport.