On Friday, the Mohegan Tribe — the longtime ownership group of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun — reportedly sold the team to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and family for a record $300M. The move solidified months of speculation that the W would steer the sale toward Houston after the league reportedly denied Boston’s even higher bid for $325M.

This month, Gen Z–focused basketball media company Overtime (OT) announced a content partnership with UConn women’s basketball — a first-of-its-kind deal for college sports. While embedded content studios aren’t new, head of OT Select and women’s basketball Sascha Malas told us earlier this month that universities haven’t partnered directly with media companies before.

The Bhathals are changing how the women’s sports game is played, from building the first-ever dual WNBA and NWSL practice facility to creating the first local channel dedicated to women’s sports. That synergy is helping the teams become a major draw for high-profile brand deals. This week, we spoke with Bhathal Merage in a rare interview ahead of her appearance at the Power Play Sports Sponsorship Accelerator about the benefits of owning both teams, both from an ownership and sponsorship perspective. As she put it, “one plus one equals five.” The math is mathin’.

The Sports Bra and the Women’s Premier Basketball Association (WPBA) — a developmental women’s league similar to the NBA’s G League — announced a strategic partnership that will use the sports bar’s reach among women’s sports fans to promote the WPBA as it looks to strengthen relationships with the WNBA and sponsors.

Last week, Front Office Sports covered the ATX Open’s rage room, an idea that came from Jessica Pegula on the podcast she launched alongside Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady, and Desirae Kawczyk. After countless women players have been criticized for showing their frustrations on the court, Pegula argued athletes need this — and the tournament agreed.

In an exclusive with The GIST today, Gen Alpha girls empowerment brand Rebel Girls (RG) is announcing a new media partnership with Athletes Unlimited’s basketball arm, AU Pro Basketball (AUBB). While basketball has been a priority for RG, evidenced by activations with A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu, this is the brand’s first foray into hoops at the organizational level.

Though the WNBA’s 2026 season schedule remains up in the air due to ongoing CBA negotiations, forthcoming W franchises are rolling ahead with preseason marketing campaigns.

Last week, Good Eat’n — a plant-based snack brand launched by NBA legend Chris Paul — announced that WNBA phenom Paige Bueckers joined the company as an equity partner and will launch her own new snack called Ragerz.

“At this point, Angel Reese is as much of a socialite as she is a basketball player,” writes Marie Claire’s Ariel Baker in an article singing the 23-year-old’s praises, lauding Reese’s iconic French twist while sitting front-row at a Chanel show in NYC while effusing about being “obsessed with her duality.”