Look away, Rob Manfred.
Cam Newton, a former NFL quarterback turned media personality, read the room and predicted that the WNBA would be more popular than Major League Baseball in 20 years.
“Who really pays attention to baseball? Especially regular season baseball?” Newton asked. on a recent episode of his “4th&1 Podcast.” “Baseball is – I hate to say it – but it's like a dying sport. I think within 20 years, baseball will be overtaken by the WNBA.”
The three-time Pro Bowler makes a number of claims about a sport he never plays in an episode released on Dec. 19, some of which are more substantiated than others. .
Whether MLB's season is too long is a fair question, but it's probably fair to ask about any major North American sport.
But the question of whether the sport of baseball is dying, often asked by those who argue that Manfred and other league officials are completely unable to capture the attention and interest of younger generations, is an entirely different question. be.
This story has garnered plenty of headlines in recent years, but the numbers show it's not entirely true.
According to MLB.comTicket buyers between the ages of 18 and 35 increased by 9.8% between 2014 and 2019.
and, Separate reportthe league announced that its television partners recorded double-digit growth in the “Adults 18-34” category during 2024.
Data from one year earlier, after the culmination of the 2023 season (the season in which new rules were first introduced to shorten games and eliminate dead time) Collected by marketing and technology companies A group independent of the league concluded that 70% of MLB fans began following their favorite team at age 17 or earlier.
This was the highest among the four major North American leagues, with the NFL at 66%, the NBA at 60%, and the NHL at 48%.
Comparable numbers for the WNBA are not provided in this study.
Still, the narrative that baseball is doomed always has its supporters.
Meanwhile, the rise of the WNBA is indisputable.
Just two months ago, the league completed its best season in history.
Records were set on and off the court, including TV ratings, box office revenue, sponsorship and merchandising revenue.
Expectations for the 2025 season, led by rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, are understandably through the roof.
The same should be true for 2026.
And in 2027.
On and on.
As for 2045, the year Newton circled on his oversized calendar, if by then these legends are still running and sharing the court with their own kids, LeBron style, well, The former NFL player may be right. More people are likely to watch the WNBA than the MLB.
