Women's sport investment has grown for years but most growth was incremental. 2024-2025 marked something different — escape velocity in several specific sports. Football, cricket, and basketball saw step-changes in viewership, salaries, and broadcast deals that suggest the underlying economics shifted.
Where the shift was clearest
Women's Super League (English football): average attendance 8,400 in 2024-25, up from 1,900 in 2018-19. Broadcast deal of £8m/year — modest but step up. Women's IPL (cricket): launched 2023, player salaries at top tier now seven figures. WNBA (US basketball): viewership doubled with Caitlin Clark effect; expansion franchises announced.
Where it hasn't broken through yet
Women's golf, tennis (already had relative parity in headline events but gaps in lower tiers). Cycling and motor sport remain heavily male. Olympic sports outside the major commercial categories.
Watch the next 2-3 years. If salary growth and broadcast deals continue at current rate, women's football specifically may achieve middle-tier commercial sport status — entirely new territory for women's team sport.