Sophie Cunningham hasn’t minced words on the WNBA’s expansion in the past. After the league announced two new franchises in Cleveland and Detroit, Cunningham cautioned how “you want to make sure that you’re not expanding our league too fast”. Now, the league has taken a similar step, officially increasing its regular season schedule from 44 to 50 games, beginning in 2027. As expected, the Fever star made her stance clear once again.

“My knees are already starting to hurt a little bit more,” Cunningham said on the USA Sports Broadcast. “I’m just going to say that.

“But if we’re going to be getting paid that amount of money, then you’re expected to play more games. I think it’s fair. I think you’re going to see the season expand into November, and I’m all for it. If you’re getting paid that, then you’ve got to put a product out there for longer for people to enjoy. I’m all for it.”

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon also agrees with the Fever star.

“It is what it is. It’s the growth of the league,” Hammon opined, as per Hayden Cilley. “When you look at it in that lens, it’s good. We’ll have to see if they allow even more roster spots and stuff like that, because that’s a lot of wear and tear on a group, especially when you start mixing in World Cup and all this other stuff. But more money, more games. That’s the way it works.”

That said, Cunningham is not wrong. Injuries saw a major rise when the league expanded to 44 games last year, with more than 225 occurring during the season.  Multiple stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were sidelined for a lengthy period with different injuries.

Cunningham herself suffered an MCL tear later in the season and missed the playoffs, along with a handful of regular-season games. However, if you ask Cathy Engelbert, she is convinced this is the best step forward.

“Demand for the WNBA has never been greater, and expanding to a 50-game regular season reflects the extraordinary momentum we are seeing across the league,” the WNBA Commissioner said.

But the question remains whether they can manage to squeeze in the schedule before the NBA season begins. Many teams share their arenas with their NBA counterparts. Additionally, it dilutes the WNBA audience if the NBA games are happening simultaneously.

With the new $3+ billion media deal, extra games should give the WNBA more broadcast inventory. It will also add more home games for each team on the docket, giving them more ticketing revenue. Consequently, it will help players like Sophie Cunningham earn more via revenue sharing and increase their brand value as well.

The league is also expanding to two more teams by 2030 which furthers the case for more games. Whether this will be accompanied by more roster spots is unknown. The league is set to release further details on the schedule “on a later date.”