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This is part of a Front Office Sports series about sports spending in the 2026 midterm elections.
In 2026, the WNBA continued to be one of the most politicized leagues in sports, with topics like racial abuse and transgender eligibility dominating national storylines throughout the season.
Off the court, WNBA team owners gave more than $540,000 in federal election donations during the 2025–26 midterm cycle, according to data compiled by Front Office Sports. The amount donated shoots up to close to $1 million when including owners of teams that are set to join the WNBA in the next few years, all of whom also own NBA teams.
FOS analyzed the federal political donations of team owners in major U.S. sports leagues from Jan. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, using publicly available Federal Election Commission filings. These contributions include donations to individual candidates, political action committees, and other political groups, such as state or national committees for each party.
Tilman Fertitta, whose purchase of the Connecticut Sun went through in May, was the highest donor among WNBA owners during the midterm cycle. The Houston Rockets owner will move the team to Houston next season and bring back the Comets moniker. The restaurant and casino mogul, currently serving as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Italy, donated $200,000 to the Republican National Committee.
Josh Harris, who led the bid to bring a WNBA team to Philadelphia in 2030, donated $255,000 almost entirely to a Republican Senate PAC. Harris’ business partner and future WNBA co-owner David Blitzer contributed more than $150,000, most of which went to Democrats.
The Indiana Fever’s Herb Simon, historically a Democratic donor, gave $130,000 to both sides of the aisle this cycle. Washington Mystics owner Ted Leonsis donated more than $120,000, which favored Democrats, mostly made up by a $105,000 donation to the left-leaning Monumental Sports PAC. Outgoing WNBA owners of the Connecticut Sun, the Mohegan Tribe, gave more than $85,000 to both Democrats and Republicans.
A representative for Fertitta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for Simon did not comment.
Other donations from WNBA team owners for the 2025–26 midterms cycle include:
- Dallas Wings owner Bill Cameron: more than $25,000 in donations, mostly to trade PACs as well as two Republican candidates
- Seattle Storm owners Lisa Brummel, Dawn Trudeau, and Ginny Gilder: more than $15,000 combined to Democrats
- Minnesota Lynx owner Marc Stad: $7,000 each to Eric Jones and Ro Khanna, both Democrats running for Congress in California
- Chicago Sky owner Michael J. Alter: $11,000, mostly to Democrats running in Illinois
- Los Angeles Sparks owner Mark Walter: $10,000 to MLB political action committee. (Walter is reportedly looking to sell the team amid federal investigations into his companies.)
- Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia: $10,000 to the bipartisan United Wholesale Mortgage PAC
The owners of the two teams in this year’s WNBA Finals, the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream, did not have any records of donations during this election cycle. Nor did the owners of any other remaining teams: the Las Vegas Aces, Portland Fire, New York Liberty. (The Toronto Tempo are under Canadian ownership; minority owner Serena Williams does not have any records of donations this cycle.)
Dan Gilbert of the WNBA’s 2028 expansion franchise the Cleveland Sirens gave more than $50,000 to Democrats and Republicans, while Tom Gores, who will own the 2029 expansion team in Detroit, did not have records of any donations.
Outgoing WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert did not have any records of donations, but her boss, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, gave nearly $40,000 to Democrats.
Houston’s Fertitta and Indiana’s Simon were also two of the largest donors among NBA owners during the 2024 election cycle. But for the second-straight federal election cycle, no sports team owners come close to Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson. She gave about $100 million in 2024, and more than $65 million in 2026.
This series was reported and produced by Amanda Christovich, Margaret Fleming, Eli Kronenberg, Katie Krzaczek, and Dennis Young.
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