Gotham FC forward Midge Purce is hard to miss — especially after her 2025 NWSL Championship win made her a two-time victor. Off the field, the star athlete, who recently recommitted to Gotham, is carving out a new legacy as CEO of Offseason Inc., with even more plans for the future.
She’s not alone. Across women’s sports leagues, athletes are making big plays outside their game time — just look at New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud and Minnesota Lynx guard (and StudBudz star) Courtney Williams.
These three players participated in the Fanatics x Boardroom Athlete Immersion Program earlier this month. This two-day event is like a mini business boot camp, helping pros hone their entrepreneurial skills while learning from top industry leaders. Purce, Cloud, and Williams took a short break from the event to speak to theSkimm about what it means to build a sustainable career — and what they hope to see change in their respective leagues.
On seizing the moment…
Purce: “I have grown up in this league where all of the veteran players and the legends in front of me were really dynamic, and they were required to do different things off the field in order to make a living. But I have the privilege of being able to pursue interests that I have off the field while playing, just for the joy and the interest… It’s not really preparing for the future. It’s more of taking advantage of the present.”
Williams: “We all got these great opportunities off the court … I want to just maximize everything that I can before I’m actually done playing.”
On expanding beyond their sports…
Purce: “I’m the CEO of a company called Offseason Inc. and that has two different operating LLCs under it — one is a production company, which is Offseason Productions. The other one, which I’m going to announce, is a really fun project that we’re doing and is a mixed-use commercial real estate venture.”
Cloud: “I’m looking to start 'Tash Tries,'” [where I] go around and try different stuff — from food to sporting events — it’s just me trying anything … I also want to invest in a team later down the line … but the biggest thing that I can do at this moment is to completely and fully commit to investing in me and finding where my niche is.”
Williams: “Twitch [is] obviously the biggest thing right now during our offseason — just making sure we stay consistent with whenever we can get together. We can get on the stream and just make sure people know we’re still here, we’re still active. We got StudBudz going as well — we’re about to rebrand that.”
A message to the WNBA amid ongoing CBA negotiations…
Cloud: “I would love to see Cathy [Engelbert] be a girl’s girl and understand what a pivotal moment we are in for the trajectory of women’s sports and especially the WNBA. We have an amazing group of women that understand both business and the reality ... There is no business that runs without its workers, and we are the product on the floor. We are what makes the WNBA go.
…What is really special about this league is that we are all unified and we understand how pivotal this moment is — not only for our own pockets, but for the generation of women that come after us.”
Williams: “We just want our piece of the pie. That’s really what it comes down to. I think everybody just wants their piece of the pie and a fair share of it, nothing more, nothing less, just our fair share of what we deserve.”
The biggest issues facing women’s sports…
Purce: “People are talking about a lot of the right things [right now]. We have the salary cap that I believe needs to be increased and expanded, the lack of research in women’s health and physiology, and how that relates to sport. Maybe we can talk about the oversaturated calendars that are out … adjusting compensation for [athletes] who are playing an extra amount of games and how that also affects their performance in just normal league play.”
On their advice to younger athletes….
Cloud: “I’m 10 years into my WNBA career and I feel like I have a lot more to give, but the thing that I’m most proud of is that I did it my way … I always made sure that I stayed true to my values, my morals, and just who I wanted to be as a human being.”
Williams: “There comes a time where you do start trying to explore different avenues. When you first get in the league, you want to be so locked in, but these younger [athletes] — like when you think of the Caitlin Clarks or Angel Reeses — they got their hands in different things. You could do more, right? [There’s] nothing wrong with keeping the main thing the main thing because that’s what gives us the platform. But keep yourself open to something that sets your heart ablaze.”
’Tis the season for the holidays…
Purce: “I love chocolate chip cookies, but I make the sugar cookies with the little Christmas tree … for my boyfriend because those are his favorite. By make, I mean, I put them in the oven.”
Cloud: “I’m a movie buff, so actually sitting down and watching movies is one of my favorite things to do. The Grinch and Home Alone 2 — I need to be specific. The second one, that’s my favorite.”
Williams: “The holiday season just makes people a little bit happier. Now me, I'm happy all year round, but you can feel people’s energy when the holidays come around. So that’s what I love about holidays.”
Interview has been edited and condensed for clarity .
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