Culture


MARTIN WHITE


Women’s Pro Sports Now $1 Billion-a-Year Business


Dynamic young stars and a row over transgender athletes spark sudden surge in popularity.


T BY ALICE GIORDANO


he transgender contro- versy over biological men invading women’s locker rooms has overshadowed a


dramatic surge of interest in American professional women’s sports. Market forecasters say the women’s


sports industry surpassed $1 billion in revenue in 2024, and it is expected to be even bigger this year with the launch of the ESPN-style All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN).


36 NEWSMAX | APRIL 2025 Its promoters include Dana White,


the machismo conservative of the professional boxing world, as well as major networks like CBS competing for broadcasting rights. Trailblazing boxing legend Christy


Martin, 56, was the first female boxer to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That was 29 years ago. Now, after all these years, a major


motion picture is due out later this year about the Hall of Famer’s tri- umphs in the ring, and the fight for


her life outside of it. Martin describes the evolution


as “exciting.” “As an athlete, I never wanted people


to walk away saying she was a good woman fighter; I wanted them to say she was a good fighter,” she tells Newsmax. Mainstream fans are leading the


interest in women’s sports — even die- hard NFL supporters are grabbing beer and pizza to watch professional wom- en’s football during its spring season. In November, the Women’s Foot-


ball Alliance (WFA) made sports his- tory when it became the first women’s tackle football league ever to be signed for a streaming package.


WHITE/COOPER NEILL/ZUFFA LLC / CLARK/AP IMAGES / UFC FIGHT/ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES


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