Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird Dish on the Future of Women’s Sports

USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe and WNBA champion Sue Bird both made monumental differences in their respective sports during their careers that will impact the entire landscape of women’s sports going forward.

Bird helped set the table for the WNBA as she was Vice President of the WNBPA Executive Committee that, in 2020, established the league’s first collective bargaining agreement. Rapinoe played an instrumental role for the landmark CBA with the USWNT that equalized pay between the men’s and women’s teams in 2022. 

Both Rapinoe and Bird are excited to see positive changes continue.

“Just the entire space around women’s sports seems very different from what we were playing in,” Rapinoe said during her photo shoot for the 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which hits newsstands May 15. “It feels like we’re not talking about fighting for equality, it feels like we’re talking about growth of the business and how do we really capitalize on this moment and make it sustainable and grow it going into the future.”

Rapinoe specifically mentioned a few examples of the “dramatic changes” she’s been proud to see.

“I think you see it with the new media rights deal for the NWSL, the WNBA’s media rights deal is coming up,” Rapinoe said. “You see women honestly dominating, particularly in college, but I think even professional women, dominating the social space. We’re so engaging, we have so much to offer. I think we’re really amazing brand partners and always sort of outperform and outachieve any metrics that we have, whether it’s attendance or sponsorship around the team. I think there’s just a change in vibe. I think now all of the people who had a bunch of money before who were like, ‘Oh, this is about investment’ or ‘We’re not getting in for X and Y,’—now they’re all here. Valuations are going up, franchises are being either bought or expansion franchises are coming in.”

Bird echoed the part about more money coming into these women’s sports leagues. She mentioned how small her contract was when she entered the WNBA, but she’s so excited to see other athletes continue to be paid more.

“What I wish for these younger players or for women coming up in sports is that I am the old disgruntled former player that’s like, ‘Well, I didn’t get to make a million dollars a year in my WNBA contract,’ or ‘I didn’t get millions of dollars here or opportunity there’ because it just means that it worked. It just means that it’s booming,” Bird said. “Checks at dinner will be pushed across the table to the young kids from here forth. That’s my hope. I hope we’re looking at billionaires pretty soon.”

Rapinoe and Bird, who engaged in October 2020, are both featured in a special SI Swimsuit Legends package in the franchise’s 60th anniversary edition. The feature highlights changemakers from the last decade who have made past SI Swimsuit appearances. Rapinoe previously appeared in the 2019 edition, Bird in the 2022 issue.