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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Memo to WNBA: Make A’ja Wilson the face of your league.
What makes Wilson so appealing is that she has stunning likability with the skills to a take on serious issues. The two-time league MVP has used her platform in Las Vegas as the Aces’ literal center of the franchise to score endorsements from companies like Ruffles potato chips, play in the NBA celebrity All-Star Game and even engage in fun skits that goofed on former Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer.
Wilson has so many different aspects to her persona. She can crack jokes and pal around with her teammates one moment, while also having the capacity to articulate points on serious matters like the pay differential between men and women players and what it meant to have a statue of her likeness have a home at the University of South Carolina campus.
She’s a terrific role model for kids, while also serving as a great example for adults on how to relate to different types of people. Here’s Wilson in April 2019:
Wilson is a warrior on the court and she has a humbleness that is a reflection of her parents, Roscoe and Eva Wilson.
The many sides of Wilson:
Wilson has the ability to help the WNBA reach not only its core fans but also demographic groups across the entire sports landscape.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the former Deloitte CEO and a product of the corporate world, has brought a revenue-generating mindset to the 12-team league that is poised to expand in the new two years. Ten cities are under consideration.
Plus, the WNBA season will be expanding from 36 games to 40 games in 2023. Salaries range from $70,000-$80,000 to $230,000, with the league trying to cobble together marketing deals for players to augment the salaries.
As we’ve seen with the NFL and NBA, the big money gushers for leagues are broadcast rights deals that extend into the billions of dollars.
There is no better player to represent the WNBA to expand the broadcast viewer pool than Wilson, a funny, charismatic, engaging, articulate and likable personality who has broad appeal once her exposure is extended to the American public.
Wilson’s Aces are two games from a WNBA championship and it would benefit the WNBA to have a marketing campaign ready to go after Las Vegas or Connecticut wins the championship because once the season ends the NFL steamrolls everything in its path when it comes to TV ratings.
The LVSportsBiz.com team of writer Cassandra Cousineau, photographer Tyge O’Donnell and myself will be at Las Vegas vs Connecticut Game 2 at 6 PM tonight at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena.