Candace Parker tells Goldman Sachs investor she wants to buy a WNBA and NBA team

A month after announcing her resignation, Adidas named her president of women’s basketball, giving her power over product design and responsibility for curating the next generation of players signed by the German footwear giant.

Speaking Wednesday at the Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovation Summit in Healdsburg, California, Parker showed that her business goals are just as ambitious as those she had as a player. “I would love to own a WNBA team and an NBA team,” she told Goldman Sachs co-head of global banking and markets Dan Dees and an audience of about 200 Goldman Sachs bankers, investors and entrepreneurs.

To pull off such a takeover, Parker would have to continue breaking down barriers like she has done since high school when she beat the boys in the 2004 McDonald’s All American High School Slam Dunk Contest. Although Parker was reportedly the highest-paid female basketball player in the world last year with an estimated $8.1 million, she still earned $3 million less than the lowest-paid NBA player.

That means it would have to make up a significant gap to buy even the cheapest professional basketball teams. The lowest rated WNBA team is the Atlanta Dream, rated by Sportico at $55 million. According to information, the cheapest NBA team is the Memphis Grizzlies at $2.4 billion Forbes.

In October 2023, Parker made a big move to bridge that gap when she joined Stephen Curry, Michael Strahan and Lindsey Vonn as part of billionaire Marc Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund. Earlier this year, Lasry sold his stake in the Milwaukee Bucks for a reported $3.5 billion, which Parker said made him a great mentor as she pursues her own acquisitions. In June, Lasrys Avenue Capital released documents showing that the company had raised $445 million for the fund and was reportedly seeking $1.5 billion.

“When I started working with Avenue Capital, I said I needed a promise that we were going to invest in women’s sports, not as a charity or endorsement,” she told the Goldman audience. “We will do it as a real investment. We will give him a chance to succeed.”

This work is part of their larger business ambitions, which include supporting one of Adidas’ key businesses and angel investments.

A cornerstone for Adidas

At Adidas, their current talent roster includes rising star athletes Aliyah Boston, Hailey Van Lith, Kahleah Copper, Aaliyah Edwards, Chelsea Gray, Betnijah Laney, Alysha Clark, Nneka Ogwumike, Chiney Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler.

Adidas is already showing signs of growth, releasing its quarterly results yesterday – up 46% from the same quarter last year – two weeks early. But Adidas’ urgency to release these numbers so quickly belies a deeper obstacle at the company.

In many ways, Adidas’ star has risen alongside Parker’s. When she was hired in 2008, Adidas shares were trading at $32 and Parker was virtually unknown outside the then-insular world of women’s basketball. Throughout her career, Adidas released three shoes designed around her. This culminated in the Candace Parker Part III collection, which also included Adidas’ new Exhibit Select shoes, the first designed from the ground up for women’s feet. Adidas shares peaked at $189 in July 2021, the same year Parker won her second championship.

However, this month was a reality check for the fast-growing company. Adidas shares plunged 73% to $50 in October 2022, a level not seen in six years. A Reuters report earlier this year blamed lower demand for stores becoming overcrowded.

While some of that decreased demand is certainly due to the reduced popularity of the much more lucrative men’s basketball – the final game of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament was reportedly watched by 24 million people, compared to 14.82 million for men – the company also broke that Relations with this from Kanye West stopped selling his cash cow Yeezy sneakers in 2022 after a series of anti-Semitic statements.

Despite falling share prices, the company was barely able to generate positive sales until the German footwear giant posted its first annual loss in 30 years in March this year – a month before Parker announced her resignation.

There is tremendous growth ahead for women’s sports

Adidas appears to want to capitalize on the rising star of women’s basketball. But there is still a long way to go. The WNBA reportedly earned $200 million last year compared to the NBA’s $10 billion, and the average WNBA salary is $119,590 compared to the NBA average of $11.9 million. With Parker’s new authority at Adidas, she is in a position to change that.

Even though Parker isn’t Only the face of Adidas women’s basketball – as she didn’t want to be before she joined – her Is the face. And a very well paid one, all things considered. But their younger competitors include Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, who has reportedly signed an eight-year, $28 million contract with Nike – which Adidas outbid – and the Chicago Sky’s 22-year-old rookie Angel Reese has reportedly signed According to Reebok, he has already signed a contract worth $1 million.

Such a competition should create added value for future generations of female athletes that goes beyond just basketball. Earlier this year, accounting firm PwC said 85% of experts surveyed predicted double-digit growth over the next three to five years and in June Assets reported that wealthy Goldman Sachs clients were exploring women’s sports as a new investment category.

Parker’s interests also extend beyond basketball. Last year, she joined NBA pro Kevin Durant to invest in League One Volleyball, which is building a professional volleyball league. Today, Parker explained to the audience why: “My daughter is a volleyball player.”