The Golden State Valkyries reached a $1 billion valuation after their inaugural 2025 season, according to CNBC's franchise assessment released this week. No women's sports franchise has crossed ten figures before. The next expansion window opens in 2027.
The Valkyries entered the WNBA as an expansion franchise in 2025, paying a reported $50 million entry fee. Twelve months later, the CNBC valuation represents a 20x return on that initial capital deployment. The franchise plays at Chase Center in San Francisco, sharing the venue with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, who hold majority ownership of the Valkyries through their parent entity. Average attendance for the Valkyries' inaugural season was 12,800 per game, second in the league behind only Las Vegas.
The valuation matters because the WNBA Commissioner's office is evaluating bids for at least two expansion franchises to begin play in 2027 or 2028. League sources indicate interested ownership groups were informally told to prepare bids in the $75-100 million range before the Valkyries data became public. That guidance is now outdated. The Valkyries number resets the pricing floor: any ownership group pitching a major market can credibly argue their franchise will track toward $500 million-plus within five years if the San Francisco comp holds. That math changes which bidders clear their internal IRR thresholds.
The Valkyries captured the ten-figure mark through four specific levers. First, Chase Center: the franchise pays no venue construction cost and splits certain operational expenses with the Warriors, creating an immediate margin advantage over teams playing in older, single-tenant arenas. Second, the Bay Area corporate base: the Valkyries announced 11 founding partners before their first game, including Rakuten, Kaiser Permanente, and Google. Third, media: the team's local broadcasts averaged 78,000 viewers on NBC Sports Bay Area, a higher rating than several NBA teams in smaller markets. Fourth, jersey patches: the Valkyries' primary sponsor reportedly paid $8 million annually for front-of-kit rights, double the WNBA average and close to what some NHL teams command.
The broader WNBA valuation picture confirms the Valkyries are not an isolated event. The New York Liberty are valued at $925 million, and the Los Angeles Sparks at $880 million. All three teams play in arenas with NBA co-tenants and benefit from Fortune 500 sponsor density. The league's median valuation is $220 million, up from an estimated $50 million median in 2020. The gap between top-tier and mid-tier franchises is widening, which creates pressure on smaller-market owners either to increase capital commitments or consider sale processes.
Expansion bidders now face a recalibrated landscape. Portland, Philadelphia, and Nashville are known to have ownership groups assembling bids. A $100 million entry fee looked aggressive six months ago; it now looks conservative if the team has a modern arena and a local corporate base capable of supporting eight-figure annual sponsorship revenue. Family offices and private equity groups that passed on earlier WNBA investment opportunities are re-entering conversations with league advisors. One East Coast ownership group that declined to bid at $75 million is now preparing a revised proposal at $125 million, according to a person familiar with the bid.
The Valkyries valuation also clarifies the economics of women's sports franchises relative to men's. The WNBA's average franchise value is now $285 million. The NHL's average is $1.3 billion, and the NBA's is $4.4 billion. But the Valkyries' 20x return in 12 months outpaces any major men's sports franchise appreciation over the same period. The comp set shifts: WNBA franchises are no longer alternative investments; they are growth-stage assets with public comps and a forward revenue curve institutional allocators understand.
Watch for the league to formally open expansion bidding in Q2 2026, with a deadline likely in late summer. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has indicated the league wants to reach 16 teams by 2028, up from the current 12. The Valkyries number gives her negotiating leverage to push entry fees above $100 million and to require committed arena deals and local broadcast agreements as table stakes. Any bidder offering less than $125 million for a major market will need to explain why their franchise won't track the San Francisco trajectory.
The Valkyries play their 2026 home opener on May 16. Their season-ticket renewal rate for year two is 94 percent.
The takeaway
WNBA expansion fees will now start at **$125 million** minimum after the Valkyries proved a **$1 billion** exit path exists in 12 months.
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