NEW YORK — Tennis icon Billie Jean King has spent her life trying to convince people women's sports were worth investing in. The rest of the world has finally caught up to what she saw all along.
"We're just beginning," King said. "The men are in trillions of dollars, (women are at) $300 billion. If you're in business, you look at these numbers, you're like, 'Whoa.' But nobody cared about us before, so we know we're on the right track now, because people love women's sports.
"But the important thing is that we belong. Women belong. Why should we not have the same dreams (as men)?"
Women's sports, which has spent the last 50-plus years since Title IX passed proving its value, is booming. According to a Bank of America study released in March, viewership
in the U.S. has nearly tripled since 2020. The result has been increased revenue coming from sponsors, media rights deals and ticket and merchandise sales.
King reinforced the movement at the third-annual Power of Women’s Sports Summit presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics at the New York Historical Society on Monday, Aug. 31. The summit was attended by who's who of women's sports icons including former USA soccer stars Julie Foudy and Abby Wambach, Mexican flag football captain Diana Flores and racecar driver Katherine Legge.
Wambach, who is hosts a women's sports podcast with King and Foudy called "Welcome to the Party," is embracing the growth of women's sports but doesn't want its essence to change.
"We have to think differently about women's sports than we do think about men's sports," she said. "... Like (Team USA soccer coach) Emma Hayes has said before, when you go to a men's sporting event, it's cortisol. And when you go to a women's sporting event, it's dopamine.
"It's amazing to have investment. It's amazing to have all this insurgence of media attention. Those are important elements, but we can never lose sight of the feeling that you have when you go to a women's sporting event."
King, a self-described "jock," said she is trying to help athletes think ahead to life after sports. After winning 12 major titles in singles, 16 in doubles and 11 in mixed doubles, she went on to found the Women's Sports Foundation and co-found World TeamTennis. King has also been an advocate for social equality and education.
"You don't have to just play tennis or play soccer," King said. "You can be a reporter, you can be in communications, you can become a physiotherapist, you can be a CEO of that team. There are so many things that you could become.
"Most people, men and women, all genders, if they were in sports, they want to stay in it. They like the people. ... You understand it. So I try to encourage you to say in the business."
The lessons learned in sports also carry over professionally, a survey released by e.l.f. Beauty and Parity released in conjunction with the summit revealed. More than 9,500 women across the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom who played sports were asked how the experience impacted their professional life. Here are a few takeaways:
- Women who played sports are 50% more likely to hold leadership roles at work
- They're 37% more likely to rise to senior leadership and 25% more likely to have negotiated their salary
- 95% say at least one professional skill was learned through sports — teamwork, discipline, performing under pressure and communication top the list
- 90% of those promoted say a skill they learned in sports helped them move up
King is living proof of those stats. She is also putting her money where her mouth is and holds ownership stakes in Angel City FC and several other women's sports ventures. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Professional Women's Hockey League. As for the next billion-dollar idea is women's sports?
"Flag football," King said of the sport which will launch in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "... Invested in it already. If you really care, you invest.
"The Olympics exposure, the money behind it with the NFL, is gonna do gangbusters. It's a no brainer. And it's fun."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women's sports are booming. Billie Jean King says the opportunity is even bigger
