New Endy partnership illustrates value of partnering with Canadian WNBA athletes

The GIST: Canadian mattress brand Endy is returning as the WNBA’s official sleep partner in Canada, touting a new campaign that stars Canadian athletes across the league. The move doubles down on impressive fan growth in the country, which both Canadian and multinational brands are noting.

• The campaign also illustrates that affinity for the W extends beyond Toronto’s new hometown team to the Canadian players that have been drawing fans since before the Tempo. So not slept on.

The success: The 2026 WNBA Draft saw a 172% YoY viewership increase on TSN, while the Tempo’s inaugural home opener drew a sellout crowd of 8.2K. The past several years have been building to this moment: The league has sold out all four Canadian games since 2023. And now, Canada represents nearly half of all international WNBA merch sales, according to Endy.

The homegrown talent: Last year, only four WNBA athletes (2.2%) were Canadian, and Endy is working with three of them: Returning ambassador and Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards, Toronto Tempo guard Kia Nurse, and Golden State Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere.

• Investing in Canadian athletes is not a totally new concept: Nurse, in particular, has been the face of several Canadian brand partnerships, including Maybelline Canada, Peace Collective, and Canadian Tire — which she joined with Edwards.

Zooming out: As the W grew in the North, so did its Canadian fandom, and that helped Toronto land an expansion franchise. But even with a Canadian team in the mix, brands like Endy still value the opportunity to partner directly with Canadian athletes no matter where they play — although Edwards and Nurse are both currently with the Tempo.

• That’s likely because local fans supported Canadian WNBA stars long before they had a hometown team to cheer for. It’ll take time to build that same fervent fandom around the Tempo (and its American players), but for now, Canadian brands can easily score loyalty points by partnering with national heroes. Making money moves.