Organization: National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Title:Â Commissioner
Industry: Culture, media, entertainment and sports
Hometown:Â Brooklyn, New York
Notable in 2023: Landed a $240 million media rights deal and league expansion to Boston, Utah and the Bay Area.
When Jessica Berman was named commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League in 2022, she quickly made several changes to an organization that had been besieged by a variety of problems that had shaken the confidence of both fans and players in the league.
In 2023, those changes paid off as the NWSL had perhaps its most successful year yet in its 12-year history, seeing growth across attendance, broadcast viewership, sponsorship revenue and fan engagement.
That successful season, which came alongside the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, sparked two of the largest deals in league history, not only in dollar amount but in potential as well.
I was very ambitious and very driven to achieve my career goals, and I think if I could go back to my younger self I would remind myself that there's a long life to live and a lot of opportunities to be achieving my success in my career.Jessica BermanNational Women's Soccer League Commissioner
In April, a group led by Sixth Street founder Alan Waxman that includes former Meta executive Sheryl Sandberg and former U.S. Women's National Team star Brandi Chastain paid $53 million in expansion fees for a new team in the Bay Area. That set a new record for the league, which had previously seen expansion fees range in the $2 million to $5 million range. Additional expansion teams were announced for Boston and Utah.
In November, the NWSL signed new media rights deals with CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and Scripps Sports which total more than $240 million over the next four years. That amounts to 40 times more than the NWSL's previous set of broadcast agreements.
But in the eyes of Berman, who joined the NWSL after serving in executive roles at the National Lacrosse League and the NHL, there is still more growth ahead for women's soccer. "This is the beginning of our future," she said at the time of the media rights announcement.
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