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Columbus's $205M NWSL fee resets women's franchise pricing and locks Atlanta's $165M commitment at par, signaling family offices expect valuations to climb pre-Olympics.
$205 million
a record expansion fee that doubles as structural insurance…
24 percent
higher than the
$165 million
Atlanta paid in October 2024 for entry in 2026
375 percent
increase over the
The National Women's Soccer League awarded its 18th franchise to Columbus on Tuesday for $205 million, a record expansion fee that doubles as structural insurance for the league's prior Atlanta commitment. The Haslam Sports Group, which owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns and MLS's Columbus Crew, leads the ownership consortium. The team enters play in 2028.
The fee is 24 percent higher than the $165 million Atlanta paid in October 2024 for entry in 2026. That gap matters less for what Columbus paid than for what it guarantees: Atlanta's number now clears at full price, not as an outlier. League sources confirmed the Columbus transaction eliminates any downward renegotiation risk on the Atlanta stake, a detail the NWSL did not advertise but ownership groups tracked closely. Two subsequent markets—Boston and Denver—paid undisclosed fees below Atlanta's benchmark before Columbus reset the curve.
The structure reflects how franchise leagues manage valuation momentum. Atlanta's $165 million in October 2024 represented a 375 percent increase over the $35 million Bay FC paid in January 2023. Boston Legacy and Denver Summit, awarded in late 2024, entered at lower figures the league has not disclosed but private-equity desks modeling NWSL returns estimated in the $110 million to $140 million range. Columbus reanchors the band at $205 million, giving Atlanta's number a bid and ask instead of a question mark. The median NWSL franchise fee since 2023 now sits near $150 million; the mean climbs to $160 million if Boston and Denver paid at the low end of whisper estimates.
For the Haslam family—Jimmy and Dee, who bought the Browns for $1 billion in 2012 and the Crew for $230 million in 2018—the NWSL entry aligns two balance sheets. The Crew plays at Lower.com Field, a $315 million venue that opened in 2021. Adding an NWSL tenant splits fixed costs, doubles event inventory for sponsors, and positions the Haslams to bid for FIFA events when the U.S. co-hosts the 2026 World Cup and eventually pursues the women's tournament. Columbus drew 20,674 fans for the Crew's 2024 MLS Cup final, the second-largest crowd in tournament history. The NWSL team inherits that venue capacity and a metropolitan area of 2.2 million people with no other women's professional franchise.
The deal also clarifies how much family offices and private equity will pay to enter women's team sports before the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics create a second pricing window. Sixth Street Partners holds a 15 percent stake in NWSL at a $1 billion enterprise valuation from 2022. That deal implied a $66.7 million average per team across 15 franchises. The current expansion trajectory suggests Sixth Street's basis has doubled in under three years. The firm declined to comment on markups, but limited partners in Sixth Street funds track the NWSL line item as a proxy for broader women's sports beta.
Three technical factors converge in 2028. The new Columbus team launches the same year as the Los Angeles Olympics, where soccer draws larger U.S. television audiences than track and field. Apple's ten-year, $250 million MLS streaming deal expires in 2032, and the league will evaluate a women's soccer add-on or standalone package. The NWSL's current media rights run through 2027; Columbus ownership sits at the table when the next contract negotiates. Finally, FIFA expanded the Women's World Cup to 32 teams starting in 2027, guaranteeing more U.S. national team matches and more roster depth that flows back to NWSL clubs.
The league has not announced its 19th or 20th markets, but Cincinnati, Nashville, and Detroit submitted formal interest packets in late 2024. If Columbus holds as the pricing floor, the next two slots will test whether ownership groups accept $200 million-plus as table stakes or wait for the 2028 Olympics to reset media comps. The Haslam transaction suggests the former: buying in now at $205 million beats paying $250 million or $300 million after Los Angeles ratings arrive.
The Columbus franchise begins play in spring 2028, giving the Haslams 40 months to hire a general manager, technical staff, and academy infrastructure. MLS teams launching in the 2010s typically spent 18 to 24 months on that buildout; NWSL clubs operate with smaller front offices but face the same sponsor sales and season-ticket cycles. The Crew's corporate relationships—Nationwide, OhioHealth, Acura—will cross-pitch, but the new team needs its own kit deal and a founding partner for the jersey front. Those conversations begin this quarter.
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