Sabrina Ionescu Reflects on WNBA Experience After Major Move
It was announced on Monday that New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu is the newest investor of NWSL club, Bay FC.
She will also serve as an “official commercial advisor” to help the team form marketing strategies and the players expand their brand endorsements. Ionescu said she wants her role to be “more than just transactional.”
According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, the 27-year-old guard, who grew up in California, has been wanting to get involved with Bay FC since last year.
Now that she’s officially part of it, Ionescu’s vision is to aid in steering Bay FC and the 14-team NWSL as a whole to new heights. The three-time All-Star related it to her experience of being an instrumental figure in the steady growth of women’s basketball.
“It hasn’t happened overnight for us,” said Ionescu in the report. “It’s been years and years for us of athletes kicking down the door, voice what it is that they want to see. It’s taken investment, and now expansion.”
The WNBA has enjoyed unprecedented success over the past few years, with Ionescu being one of the league’s marquee attractions. The WNBA will welcome the Golden State Valkyries in the upcoming season, which should only contribute to the league’s steady rise.
For Ionescu, the sky’s the limit for women’s sports.
“To see it now in real-time—viewership, attendance, sponsorships— everything is at an all-time high,” added the playmaker, who helped the Liberty win their first title last year.
“You see it across different sports. Soccer is a big one. Especially Bay FC.”
Bay FC advanced to the playoffs in its debut campaign last season but lost in the quarterfinals.
Ionescu’s business portfolio, meanwhile, continues to expand, adding to her deals with Nike, Body Armor and AT&T, among others.
