• Loading stock data...
Friday, May 30, 2025

NWSL Star Midge Purce Tired of ‘Derivative’ Marketing in Women’s Sports

  • Purce, out of the Olympics after tearing her ACL, has executive produced a show focused on 11 athletes in her league.
  • She hopes to “reform the way in which women and sport are marketed and consumed.”
Drew Gurian – Front Office Sports

Midge Purce has won an NWSL title and made a few dozen appearances for the U.S. women’s national team. Now she’s branching out into the media world, and has thoughts on how her league has been promoted until now.

“I’ve always felt that the NWSL, as well as the way that women’s sports in general is marketed, has been really derivative of men’s sports,” Purce, who missed the Paris Olympics with a torn ACL, said Friday at the Front Office Sports Huddle in the Hamptons event. In Purce’s view, the NWSL takes too much of its cues from MLS, entering the same markets and copying “their structure and their game plans.”

And it’s not just about looking toward MLS, Purce argued. American women’s soccer is too modeled off the European men’s leagues, from calling jerseys “kits” to many clubs choosing “football club” over “soccer club” in their name. That dynamic doesn’t take into account the product on the field, Purce said.

What’s the fix? Purce hopes to address NWSL’s branding struggles through her new show The Offseason, from her new company of the same name. The show has finished filming six 30-minute episodes that will premiere later this year. The reality-style show was filmed in Miami two weeks before the NWSL preseason with 11 athletes sharing one house. With talking heads and references to drama and alcohol, the trailer feels more like a fun, light reality show than a serious, heavy sports docuseries.

“The purpose of the show is to reform the way in which women and sport are marketed and consumed, as well as the athletes themselves,” Purce said. “The idea of doing The Offseason was trying to take a step back and look at the product that we have, which is completely different and a completely different audience, and say, what’s the correct way to market this?”

If The Offseason succeeds in attracting a wave of new fans to NWSL, it will be just the latest streaming series to boost the sport it highlights: Drive to Survive (Formula One racing) and Full Swing (golf) are some of the most prominent recent examples. And if you ask Wale Ogunleye, NFL alum and head of the sports and entertainment division at UBS, the intersection of sports and entertainment is only getting hotter as an investment area: “Sports and entertainment is almost a bulletproof industry,” he said on the same panel at FOS Huddle in the Hamptons. “Everybody wants to be entertained, no matter the time, the date, the structure, athletes and sports entertainment will be needed.”

Purce is hardly alone among athletes in actively seeking to have an impact on their whole sport or league through their off-field activities. Marques Colston, who played 10 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, shared the stage with Purce and Ogunleye and remarked, “I think we’re seeing a shift where athletes are taking a more active role within their own ecosystem.” Colston, who launched an athlete-focused VC fund this year, and Purce, with The Offseason, are clear examples of the trend.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Mar 24, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detailed view of the basketball sneakers worn by Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann (14) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.

Skechers Sued Over Allegedly Sketchy Go-Private Deal

The footwear giant agreed to be acquired by 3G Capital for $9.4 billion.

Steve Cohen Taps USTA’s Lew Sherr to Reshape Mets Off Field

The MLB club hires a top executive from the U.S. Tennis Association.

Featured Today

How the Champions League Anthem Took on a Life of Its Own

The composer didn’t know he wrote a timeless hit three decades ago.
May 25, 2025

How Rolex Paved the Way for Luxury’s Love Affair With Tennis

“It’s almost impossible to think about tennis without thinking about Rolex.”
Mar 23, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHI) reacts after winning a point against Madison Keys (USA)(not pictured) on day six of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
May 24, 2025

Alex Eala Is Defying Her Country’s Odds to Make French Open History

The Philippines native has overcome a unique set of financial odds.
May 24, 2025

Indiana Is the Center of the Basketball Universe—Thanks to Both Pro Teams

The Fever and Pacers are thriving at the same time.
John Haliburton

John Haliburton’s Brief Ban Ends With Pacers on Brink of Finals

John Haliburton was sitting in a suite instead of his usual courtside seat. 
May 27, 2025

Dodgers’ Biggest Deadline Pickup Might Already Be in L.A.

Ohtani faces batters as a pitcher for the first time in 21 months.
Cousins
May 27, 2025

Kirk Cousins, James Cook Among Prominent NFL OTA Absences

The NFL’s 2024 rushing touchdowns leader was among the absences Tuesday.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

In Episode 7 of Portfolio Players, go inside the boardroom with Avenue Capital CEO and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry on Giannis’s future, women’s sports, and upstart leagues like TGL and Unrivaled. 
Russian hockey
May 27, 2025

Russia Still Banned From 2026 Winter Olympics, IOC Confirms

Russia men’s hockey won gold and silver in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
May 27, 2025

How Much Do NFL Agents Make?

We dive into what agents make at American football’s highest level.
May 26, 2025

Caitlin Clark Injury Is Speed Bump Early in WNBA Season

Clark will miss at least four games based on the timeline.
May 25, 2025

Tom Brady Backs Another Crypto Play

Brady is in a group investing $18 million in a crypto-adjacent business.