I live right near Barclays, and zero exaggeration, see a lot more Liberty gear on game days than Nets stuff (usually it’s just away jerseys and random stuff). There are very much legitimate fans out there.
There is no question that there are loyal WNBA fans. Whether or not it is enough to date to sustain the league without the NBA's support is questionable. The prior women's professional basketball league crashed as a money loser. It's still basically a league that operates in the nba offseason and around most of the country, in warmer weather outdoor spectator sports are more attractive to fans.
The argument that they should be paid a percentage of revenue as the nba does is faulty. The NBA turns a huge profit that they share with players, who by and large make such ridiculous salaries that tickets are largely sold to corporations and wealthy patrons. I would think that WNBA players deserve to be paid more. How much more is the question. Perhaps a % of profits would be reasonable as a minimum, if profits exist. There could be guardrails to prevent creative accounting, such as depreciation of assets, etc etc that reduce profits to losses. Somewhere between gross and net profits.
All in all, women's basketball has come a long way. My daughters played in hs, and for 6 years or so were plugged into the AAU circuit, so there was a time when I had high interest watching or coaching over 100 games per year plus practices. The bottom line is the quality of play overall is not close to men's basketball. Women are not as athletic - men are bigger, stronger, faster and more agile by and large but there are some exceptions. The league is still a second rate league and would get crushed if they competed for attention while the NBA and NCAA seasons were underway.
The money the NBA invests in the WNBA is basically the salary of one NBA superstar, so it's chump change and part of a long term strategy to grow the WNBA into something substantial.
I don't know the terms of this TV deal and there may be thresholds in terms of ad revenue and viewership that need to be met, or guaranteed $$ far less than reported value or opt outs built in. Every contract is just an agreement between 2 parties so who knows.
Honestly, like many Americans, I'd only pause and watch a game if Clark is playing, and that's only if I'm flipping channels.
Bottom line: If/when teams are raking in profits, players should be paid more.