WNBL sale: Questions answered as Women’s National Basketball League officially handed over to new owners
The WNBL enters a new era Wednesday, as Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and NBL boss Larry Kestelman take over — with or without the eight incumbents. How we got here and what’s next.
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Australian women’s basketball enters a new era on Wednesday when Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and the NBL take control of the WNBL.
WHY DID WE NEED A NEW MODEL?
The WNBL has been a slowly sinking ship, surviving on the smell of an oily rag, the passion of a select few club and BA faithful and dedicated sponsors.
Every club has changed hands in the past decade, many more than once, some have died, some have moved. Almost all have agitated for change, in some form, as the grossly underpaid players and long suffering fans remained caught in a never-ending crossfire.
BA left the league chronically underfunded and woefully understaffed and the clubs couldn’t get out of their own way, bickering over every minute detail at every commission meeting.
In an April 2023 flashpoint, Code Sports revealed the majority of the WNBL’s eight club owners, which recorded combined losses of $5 million in the previous season, had united in a bid to force Basketball Australia to relinquish control of the women’s league.
Just over a year later, BA announced it had signed a term sheet to sell a majority share of the WNBL to a consortium of Kestelman’s NBL and Denholm’s Wollemi Capital, while maintaining a minority interest.
Most WNBL club owners privately admit the current standards across the board fall well short of what is expected of a professional league.
The new owners want to dramatically improve court presentation and broadcast quality, particularly given the abysmal product served up under BA’s last season as sole operator, where there were times it was impossible to tell which individual players were on the court.
WILL IT STILL BE CALLED THE WNBL?
Code Sports can reveal that, as part of its due diligence, new ownership has privately explored the possibility of a name change for the league as part of its branding.
But an insider said that work had built a strong case to maintain the status quo, given the WNBL’s four-decade history carried significant recognition and credibility both in Australia and abroad.
WHY ARE SOME CLUB OWNERS RAILING AGAINST THE DEAL?
Some clubs are unsure whether newly-formed licence agreements — and a fresh Collective Bargaining Agreement — are palatable.
“There’s a fear and there’s a lot of unknown for the clubs but, if they want the league to succeed, they have to step up, invest and work hard to get sellouts, get sponsorship, it won’t just happen,” one source said.
Each club has a current licence agreement with BA, separate to the new terms. Some owners believe they need to be honoured. But a source said, despite BA’s continued involvement as a minor shareholder, the old licence agreements did not novate across to the new entity and it was within its right to set out new terms for the new league.
Code Sports contacted every club. Seven of the eight either declined to comment or ignored requests. At least three — Canberra, Geelong and Townsville — were scheduled to meet with BA in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Some spoke on condition of anonymity over the weekend. Their issues with the new agreement include:
-requirement to cede advertising control of some court and LED signage and how that could impact sponsorship dollar.
-requirement to hand over some elements of intellectual property — team name, colours, logos — to the league.
-cost of meeting a lift in minimum standards to ensure courts were operated and presented at a level fit for professional sport and broadcast.
-the level of funding, understood to be around $300,000, the league would grant to each club.
HOW MANY TEAMS WILL THERE BE AND WHO ARE THEY?
New league ownership is adamant it wants to tip off its first season — likely in late October — with eight teams.
Under BA’s contract of sale, Code Sports has been told the new ownership was compelled to offer every incumbent WNBL club a place in the new league.
At least two deadlines have passed for each club owner to agree to the new competition’s terms.
The ownership transfer will happen on Wednesday — with or without those clubs — and that means the new league owners can pull their offer from any club that has not signed its licensing agreement.
Sources said Denholm, Kestelman and company are more than happy to blow things up and bring in new owners or create new clubs committed to the long-term vision of the league.
“It’d be fair to say there have been a lot of deadlines and a lot of talk and while there would still be an opportunity to work with current clubs, things change once you get to Wednesday,” one source said.
Another said some clubs were simply posturing to ensure they secured the best conditions under the new agreement but did not rule out the possibility some would not continue in the new league.
“Some may decide not to be a part of it, and that’s OK, we’re not forcing anyone to sign up for anything they don’t want to be a part of,” a source said.
While Adelaide no longer has a team, the new league views the City of Churches as a key market and would likely seek to either find a new owner or back the club itself to begin with.
The Adelaide 36ers — who sold the Lightning in 2019 — were sounded out on their interest in taking the WNBL team back on but ownership wanted to maintain its focus on the burgeoning NBL club.
Victoria has three WNBL teams — Bendigo, Geelong and the Southside Flyers who play in Melbourne’s suburban basketball heartland in Wantirna.
The new ownership was privately filthy when, last year, Melbourne Boomers licence was sent down to Geelong, leaving the league without a dedicated team in the country’s basketball epicentre.
It’s understood a team that played in central Melbourne would be a priority. Melbourne United came close to purchasing the Boomers before it eventually landed in Geelong.
Code Sports has been told several parties have expressed interest in the new league.
Brisbane Bullets and Tasmania JackJumpers will almost certainly have teams in season 2026-27 but Code Sports has been told both could be brought forward, in a pinch.
Once the new league is established, expansion plans could include New Zealand and Asia.
HOW MUCH WILL THE PLAYERS BE PAID?
Code Sports has been told some owners are frustrated at a lack of consultation on the new CBA and some of its conditions. The WNBL salary cap increased by 9.5 per cent last season to $532,331.11. It’s not clear what the new figure will be with one source saying it could jump as high as $600,000, which would be a massive boost for the long-underpaid playing cohort.
Another source denied that figure, saying the increase was not as steep. However, a jump in the minimum wage — understood to be from $23,000 to $29,000 — had one source concerned about how that would affect clubs’ ability to attract and pay the best talent from overseas and abroad.
Last season, import quality in the WNBL was as weak as it’s been in years, with a dearth in starter level WNBA talent compounded by an exodus of several elite Australian players who chose to ply their trades in Europe.
Under the previous CBA, the league allowed clubs one Australian marquee player, part of whom’s salary was paid outside the cap.
It’s understood, though, the new league plans to expand that concept and involve imports.
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