Jessica Berman, commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League, speaks during a panel on women’s skilled soccer on the Hilton Anatole in Dallas on Feb. 10, 2024.
Omar Vega | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
At 16 years old, Jessica Berman was one among those rare teenagers who knew exactly what she desired to do in life: lead knowledgeable sports league.
Nearly 30 years later, the Recent York City native has not only achieved her dream — becoming the commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League in 2022 — but she’s helping to pave the way in which for a recent generation of girls in sports.
Berman told CNBC the league is at a “pivotal and transformative” inflection point. “It is a movement where the world is recognizing the worth of girls and the worth of investing in women and girls,” she said.
Berman, who was named to CNBC’s inaugural Changemakers list, began her profession as a labor and employment lawyer on the Proskauer Rose law firm following internships on the National Hockey League and in college sports. She helped to barter the tip of the 2004-2005 NHL lockout with a recent 10-year collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players.
She spent the following 13 years rising within the NHL ranks, holding positions starting from vice chairman of community development to deputy counsel for the league, working alongside Commissioner Gary Bettman.
In 2019, Berman became the primary female deputy commissioner of a men’s skilled sports league, joining the National Lacrosse League. Lower than three years later, she was tapped to run the NWSL and tasked with turning around a company in crisis.
Taking the sector
Berman took the helm at the ladies’s soccer league after allegations were made from emotional abuse and sexual misconduct across several teams.
Just months after Berman was named commissioner, findings were released from a yearlong independent investigation, led by former U.S. deputy attorney general Sally Yates, which found systemic abuse within the NWSL. The league had didn’t put into place basic measures for player safety, the report said, and had fostered a “culture of abuse, silence and fear of retaliation.”
Berman issued an apology and committed to creating changes to create a secure and positive environment for players, staff and fans and to rebuild trust within the league.
Over the course of 2023, Berman worked to remodel the culture of the league and to supersize its business at a time when women’s sports are seeing unprecedented growth.
Berman helped to enhance players’ contracts with the league’s first-ever collective bargaining agreement, which included advancements for compensation and dealing conditions. She also brought the first-ever million-dollar prize pool to U.S. women’s soccer.
She cleaned up the league’s personnel, issuing lifetime bans on 4 former coaches over their roles within the misconduct detailed within the Yates report and fining the Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns teams $1.5 million and $1 million, respectively.
She’s also lured big-name investors, selling them on her recent vision for skilled women’s soccer.
Hollywood A-lister Natalie Portman and all-star athletes Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Patrick Mahomes, Eli Manning, Kevin Durant and Carli Lloyd are only among the names with equity stakes in NWSL teams.
Sofia Huerta #11 of Seattle Reign takes on Delanie Sheehan #17 of NJ/NY Gotham FC throughout the second half of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League Championship at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Nov. 11, 2023.
Ben Nichols | ISI Photos | Getty Images
Today, Berman said, business is booming and the league has never been stronger or more financially sound.
NWSL in November announced a landmark media rights cope with 4 major streaming and cable partners, price $240 million over 4 years, or 40 times the scale of the previous deal. The agreement greatly increases the league’s reach and distribution to recent audiences.
“That is the start of our future,” Berman said on the time. “These partnerships fundamentally change the sport for our league and the players who take the pitch each week.”
On Monday, the NWSL announced an expansion of its partnership with Amazon, naming the corporate as its exclusive retail sponsor. As a part of that deal, the e-commerce giant and streamer will feature an NWSL merchandise shop, and the league will migrate its digital archives of historical behind-the-scenes footage and interviews to Amazon Web Services cloud storage.
Amazon Prime will stream 27 matches this season, which kicks off Friday.
And fans have been packing the stands: The league announced record-breaking attendance for the 2023 season, with greater than 1.49 million fans attending an NWSL match, a 32% increase from the previous yr.
Under Berman, the league has expanded to 14 teams from 12, with a further two teams scheduled to take the sector in 2026.
Just a number of years ago, NWSL teams were valued at about $2 million on average; today, the common team is price $66 million, in accordance with Sportico. Leading the pack is Los Angeles’ Angel City FC, now valued at $180 million, making it one among the most dear women’s teams on the earth, Sportico said.
The basics
Berman said the thing that makes her most proud is the validation she’s gotten from the individuals who have been working for many years to vary the narrative about women’s sports.
“Seeing how current and recently retired players have really embraced what we’re constructing — those are the individuals who carry the authenticity of this game — has really fueled my energy and excitement about what we’re constructing in the longer term,” Berman said.
Berman also acknowledges the “army of individuals” who’ve helped scale the league’s impact.
“There’s numerous female empowerment that I feel on a each day basis being surrounded by such incredible leaders and athletes who’ve worked tirelessly to get thus far,” she said.
She’s also particularly happy with giving her two young boys a front-row seat to history.
“They’ve needed to make numerous sacrifices along the way in which of my profession,” said Berman, who regularly travels as a part of her job. Berman said her boys have change into personally invested within the league after getting an up-close view of their mom’s work — each the successes and the challenges.
“It makes the entire thing feel so way more meaningful because I can actually see the good thing about what I do on a each day basis for work impacting them positively of their lives,” she said.
Berman credits her success to labor, ambition and being her “authentic self.” She said while growing up, her psychologist mother instilled in her a way of self-awareness that is been key in her profession.
And despite the demands of leading knowledgeable sports league, Berman said she makes sure to prioritize caring for herself — whether through time with family members or her three dogs, or through exercise comparable to running or yoga — which she said makes her a greater commissioner.
“It gives me the energy to supply to the whole lot else that I’m doing in my life,” Berman said.
