Move over, NFL; there’s a new league in town. This Spring, a women’s professional rugby league, Women’s Elite Rugby (WER), is set to take off. Although other leagues such as Major League Rugby and Premier Rugby Sevens exist, WER is the first of its kind: a paid professional league strictly for women.
The 15-a-side league debuted the initial six teams set in Boston, New York, Chicago, the Twin Cities, Denver, and the Bay area. Each location invokes a strong rugby history that will surely lure fans of the sport. WER’s website has colorfully displayed the team logos which aim to blend and respect the history of rugby and American sports at large.
Co-founder and Vice President Katherine Aversano stated, “Rugby, its athletes, and fans are not one thing- each is multifaceted and may discover the game in a different way. Our six team identities resonate with that modern complexity but are visually rooted in the bold American sports landscape” (Women’s Elite Rugby).
With private investors, bold advertising, and a multi-media presence, it’s exciting to see female-centric professional sports proliferate into both male-dominated and untapped markets. To understand how monumental this moment is, it’s important to look at how WER is capturing this lighting in a bottle.
The Try Heard Around the World
Any American fan of rugby, albeit a rather niche base, knows about the wild win for the US Women’s Sevens team in Paris last summer. The Eagles (no, not those Eagles Philly fans) took home bronze in a nail-biter finish against Australia.
Down a try, the US was backed up behind their own 22 with 20 seconds to go. Center Alex “Spiff” Sedrick takes the ball off a ruck and plows down the Australian defense to take it to the house and win the game 14-12.
The win is historic. Since rugby sevens were re-introduced to the Olympics in 2016, the US has consistently finished at the bottom of the pack. Neither men’s or women’s teams were able to get over that hump until Paris.
Although it is not a gold or silver medal, the bronze was the first time any US pro rugby team medaled. It is monumental not just for women’s rugby, but for American rugby as a whole. The win was the exclamation point that emphasized rugby, specifically, women’s rugby, is here and wants a seat at the table.
Bring On The Big Bucks
The Eagles dominance on the field not only won them a bronze; it brought in many investors as well. Women’s rugby has the potential to become another market investors view as a part of the nexus of professional female athletes. Michele Kang and Deb Henretta are two of the biggest contributors to WER and women’s sports in general.
Kang is a known businesswoman and philanthropist in support of women’s sports. She is the owner of multiple professional female football teams such as the Washington Spirit and London City Lionesses. Alongside her athletic investments, Kang also has a stake in the media company Just Women’s Sports, a news site dedicated to breaking female-centric sports news.
After the Olympics, Kang announced she would donate 4 million dollars over four years to USA Rugby. The investment is to grow the sport in time for the 2028 LA Olympics. Although this donation is not to WER directly, it is clear the media attention has made an influence to the money flow in the sport.
On the other hand, Deb Henretta has an intimate connection to WER. Back in the spring of 2024, Henretta helped the league raise $500,000 and aims to see the league succeed in the coming years. She is an “angel investor” in the league, which means that she has accepted a low reward for a high risk.
The St. Bonaventure alumna, an institution with a blue-blood rugby program, believes now is the time for women’s pro rugby to take off. She has good reason to believe in its possibilities. Look no further than other established women’s leagues and their athletes.
Media Matters
While investors are important, athletes would fall flat without a strong media presence. It’s a synergetic relationship. Athletes such as Illona Maher, Caitlin Clark, and Sha’Carri Richardson have proven themselves successful as well as enticing to watch.
According to the ESPN Press Room, viewership for the WBNA 2024 season was up 155 percent from 2023 with an average of 1.2 million viewers. The Stade de France held a record 67,000 patrons during the first US Sevens match. There isn’t a lack of desire for female sports; there is a lack of investment in promotion.
Henretta has her finger on the pulse and has acknowledged this gap. According to the Guardian, she stated,
“I think this is the time for women’s sports… I mean, look at the WNBA… when you look at women’s sports at the college level, to offset, from a Title IX standpoint, the large football teams, you need other women’s sports”.
Thankfully, companies are finally picking up on this. This past Sunday, Nike aired a Super Bowl ad solely featuring the top female athletes in the US right now. People such as Clark, Richardson, and US soccer star Sophia Smith appear.
An ad that includes only female athletes promoting women’s sports from a major fitness brand? On National television? That’s huge. Recognition is growing and trending upwards. No rugby players were highlighted, but the possibilities have never been higher.
Marketing With A Conscious
As sports marketing is shaking up, WER seeks to take it a step further. The league’s website page on partnerships focuses strictly on brands that fully support women. The top of their page states “Good for business. Good for sports”. It’s a holistic approach: promote brands that promote you. The concept seems simple, common sense even. WER has established itself as a league aiming for trust between its consumers both in the stands and in the bank.
Idealistic? Maybe. Admirable? Absolutely.
Don’t partner with brands who speak to the idea of women- work with those who speak to actual women. The sports industry has proliferated falsehoods about female athletics for decades. Professional women’s leagues have been working to dispel the misinformation, and WER is the newest addition to the fight. Being transparent about partnerships also encourages mutual respect between the consumer and the marketer. That is especially refreshing in today’s media climate.
It’s too early to tell what WER’s fate will be. Deb Henretta admitted it’s an experiment that may take five or more years to prove successful. The numbers don’t lie: women’s sports are in demand and a vastly untapped market. There isn’t a question if women’s sports are profitable, it’s how long are investors and consumers willing to give them time to flourish.
Is five years too long?
The real test will be once the World Cup comes to the US in 2031 and 2033. How much has rugby grown, if at all? WER is exciting, but equal parts risky. It’s a litmus test to determine how strong women’s professional sports have become and demand to be.
