The battle between the WNBA and WNBPA continues to rage on. Cathy Engelbert called the talk with the players “productive.” Her words, however, sounded like pre-written PR comments. And the ground reality was far from it. Star players like Angel Reese and Napheesa Collier came forward to call these negotiations disrespectful and showed a strong front to not bend to their demands. Furthermore, WNBA players made the 2025 All-Star game a platform to show protest with shirts titled “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
Amidst all these back-and-forths, leading sports entrepreneur Dave Portnoy has given his two cents on the issue. Portnoy has been a stark supporter of the movement carried on by the players. Time and again, he has pointed out the inconsistencies in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Now he has come forward with a jaw-dropping $250 million idea for the W. Will Cathy Engelbert give heed to this? We have no idea about that yet. But one thing is certain that Portnoy is on the side of the players, especially the rookie ones.
During the July 21, 2025, episode of the Barstool Rundown, Barstool Sports founder and Caitlin Clark superfan Dave Portnoy expressed his desire to own a team in the W. In the past, he sent out a tweet that he is willing to buy a team in Boston for a price of $250 million. When revisiting this topic, Portnoy went on a serious rant about the disparity of pay in the league. He called out the league for unfair treatment towards the players.
“People acting like the WNBA is a charity case right now, they’re just idiots, they must pay no attention to what’s going on.”@stoolpresidente would buy a WNBA franchise right now if the league would let him. @BarstoolRundown @RobbieBarstool @EddieBarstool pic.twitter.com/PDFEjtVufS
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 21, 2025
“I don’t understand the dynamics here. They wore those shirts like, ‘Pay us what we deserve.’ Now, like the rookie salary, Caitlin Clark’s salary is $76,000. Nicki Smokes [Barstool Sports employee] makes more money than Caitlin Clark,” Portnoy said. He then went on to criticize the people who think players are asking for unfair amounts. In his opinion, the W is on the upward trend right now, nearing its crescendo. He compared the league to high-value tech startups. Comparing the two, he felt like tech startups don’t make a lot of profit in the start. But one thing they do right is pay their people the right amount of money they deserve. Similarly, he said that while the W league is on its way upwards, the talent they have right now should be paid what they deserve.
Portnoy estimated the WNBA will soon touch the billion mark, but that will happen if he or others are allowed to pay talent right. “If you look at major sports, the value is pretty much in how much the franchise becomes worth,” he said. The entrepreneur wholeheartedly believes that this is the right time to invest in the W and its talent. While he has offered a huge sum of $250 million for a franchise, can he back those claims?
Dave Portnoy’s net worth and his affinity with the WNBA
Back in 2019, Portnoy claimed his net worth to be around $100 million. Year by year, his projects are growing, which means he may be worth more now. He also owns 4 residences under his name, which have a value of $65 million. While it looks like he has the resources to get a team from Cathy Engelbert, the question is, will she allow him to own a company? He has been openly critical about the decisions made by the higher-ups. In the past, he has made comments over the higher-ups like, “Studbudz has done more marketing for the @WNBA with their 72-hour stream than the bozos running the league have done since its inception.” So the idea of him owning a team in the W will not be welcomed by the executives.
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – JANUARY 25: Dave Portnoy attends the 2020 Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series at Gulfstream Park on January 25, 2020, in Hallandale, Florida…People: Dave Portnoy Hallandale United States Of America – ZUMAs214 20200125_zba_s214_090 Copyright: xSMGx
But one thing is for certain, he has a high affection for the WNBA. He has time and again come forward to defend the players on the internet. Arguably, he is one of the biggest fanboys of Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t he be? The WNBA star has helped Portnoy win almost $275,000. You may wonder how. Back in June 2025, he bet $25K that Clark would get 10+ assists, 4+ 3-pointers, 20+ points, and her team would win. If he fulfilled all these conditions, he would receive a prize of $275K. And all those conditions did happen, apart from Clark having 9 assists instead of 10.
He showed visible frustration over this, which led many netizens to call him out. This may be the second reason the W does not allow Portnoy to own a franchise. He has a gambling problem that grew severely out of hand back in 2004. The entrepreneur had to file for bankruptcy due to credit card debts. While he is doing well now, the executives at the W can use this as ammunition to disapprove of him owning a team. Only time will tell whether Dave Portnoy will own a team in the WNBA or not.
The post Dave Portnoy Blasts WNBA Critics With Stunning $250 Million Idea for Cathy Engelbert appeared first on EssentiallySports.