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Columbus's **$205M** fee locks in Atlanta's **$165M** deferred payment and sets a new floor for NWSL expansion amid rising sponsor interest before 2026 media rights talks.
$205 million
to bring an NWSL franchise to Columbus
$40 million
in five months
$165 million
in December 2025 on a deferred payment structure that…
$200 million
triggers the full
Haslam Sports Group will pay $205 million to bring an NWSL franchise to Columbus, entering a women's soccer league where the expansion fee has climbed $40 million in five months. The franchise, the league's 18th, begins play in 2026 and represents the highest entry price in women's professional sports history. Dee and Jimmy Haslam, who already own MLS's Columbus Crew and the Cleveland Browns, closed the deal April 21 with NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman present at the announcement.
The arithmetic matters less for its absolute size than for what it guarantees. Atlanta's ownership group, led by CAA founder Michael Kives and backed by Reese Witherspoon, committed $165 million in December 2025 on a deferred payment structure that included performance escalators tied to future expansion pricing. Columbus crossing $200 million triggers the full $165 million obligation regardless of Atlanta's installment timeline, effectively converting a contingent liability into a locked asset on the league's balance sheet. NWSL now holds $370 million in committed expansion capital from two franchises awarded within 150 days, both in markets where MLS teams already operate and both owned by groups with NFL or entertainment-industry cash flows.
The Haslams are paying a 24.2% premium over Atlanta for a market ranked 32nd in U.S. metro population, smaller than Atlanta's 6th-ranked footprint by roughly 4 million people. Columbus justifies the delta with existing infrastructure: the Crew's 20,371-seat Lower.com Field, opened in 2021, requires no new construction and shares back-office systems with an MLS operation already staffed for year-round activation. The Crew averaged 20,508 in attendance for 2025, third in MLS, and the NWSL franchise inherits those season-ticket relationships, corporate partnerships with Nationwide and Safelite, and a local broadcast deal with Bally Sports Ohio that can absorb 24 additional match windows without renegotiation. Atlanta's expansion bid required a new stadium financing plan and site selection still under review; Columbus handed NWSL a turnkey asset.
The fee structure also signals sponsor appetite. NWSL's next media rights cycle opens for negotiation in Q3 2026, with the current CBS/Amazon package worth roughly $60 million annually through 2027. Eighteen teams create 216 regular-season matches, enough inventory to justify a multi-platform bid and enough franchises to make relegation or playoff expansion commercially viable. Private equity remains interested: Sixth Street Partners, an investor in FC Barcelona and the San Antonio Spurs, has met with NWSL ownership groups twice since February, according to people familiar with the conversations. The league's enterprise value, implied by expansion fees, has doubled in 11 months.
Haslam Sports Group's managing partner, JW Johnson, will chair the Columbus franchise. Johnson previously ran business operations for the Crew and led the $230 million stadium project that secured Columbus as an MLS market after Austin nearly poached the team in 2019. The NWSL hire is expected within 45 days, with internal discussions centering on executives from the Thorns, Courage, and Spirit front offices. Kit manufacturer and jersey sponsor deals are likely by July, ahead of the 2026 season kickoff in March.
The next NWSL expansion decision is scheduled for late 2026, with Philadelphia, Detroit, and Nashville submitting preliminary materials. The floor is now $205 million. The Haslams paid it for a market smaller than all three.
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