Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams and Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin battle for the opening tip of the Sky’s home opener at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on May 26, 2023. But for too long, the attention and funding of the sports cultural economy — advertisers, investors, sponsors and other partners — have overlooked the abundant opportunities in women’s professional sports. Luckily this is beginning to change in a powerful way.
Look, for example, at the North Side, where DraftKings inked an eye-popping 10-year, $100 million deal with the Cubs. This is just a drop in the bucket for these companies. FanDuel has a substantial partnership with the Bulls and Blackhawks, BetRivers with the Chicago Bears and Caesars with the White Sox. Meanwhile, they invest nothing in women’s professional sports teams in Chicago.
If we’re going to continue to be a world-class sports town, we need these companies to support the Sky and other women’s teams to match the undeniable momentum these teams are generating right now. While the fans are clearly paying attention, the sports betting companies aren’t playing along. The highlights, the headlines are there.