The Washington Wizards are expected to be the one of the worst teams in the NBA for the 2025-26 season. But ticket prices are expected to keep going up in most locations. And because the team is rebuilding, that means at least some fans are deciding to not renew their tickets altogether.
Varun Shankar of The Washington Post wrote a column recently where several fans were interviewed about their reactions to the Wizards raising prices on season tickets despite the team’s poor record on the court. Some
fans have also stopped renewing.
The biggest takeaway however from Shankar’s piece is that the Wizards probably aren’t that dependent on season ticket revenue. Here’s the money quote.
Ticket sales make up about 25 percent of a team’s revenue, according to an executive in another team’s front office, who cautioned that number varies depending on team and market. That figure also excludes game day revenue such as parking and concessions.
NBA teams derive the largest share of their revenue from the league’s media rights deals, the value of which increased sharply and now total over $70 billion. Media revenue is distributed equally among the 30 teams. That might mean the Wizards could have fewer fans walk through their turnstiles and still not suffer too much financially.
And that gives the team’s front office a bit more leniency to execute its patient rebuild. But it could push away some of the team’s most dedicated fans — those shelling out thousands for season tickets — and leave Capital One Arena significantly empty on many nights.
Since ticket sales are a minority of the Wizards’ revenue, the reality is that the team can choose to rebuild the long and hard way without cutting into profits. Also, if a team doesn’t spend extravagantly on players, it’s a way for teams to also keep their profits thanks to revenue sharing of the national media deals.
I’m not trying to insinuate that the Wizards are doing this simply to make or keep profits. But given that the Wizards are rebuilding and aren’t investing into salaries at the moment, it is feasible to see them do this long rebuild, see if things work out or not and not become unprofitable in the process.
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