The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion, according to CNBC's 2026 franchise valuation survey. The team began play fourteen months ago.

No other WNBA franchise is close. The New York Liberty rank second at an estimated $850 million, followed by the Los Angeles Sparks at $780 million. The league average sits at $425 million, triple the $140 million average recorded in 2023. The Valkyries entered the league in January 2025 after the ownership group led by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid a $50 million expansion fee. Their franchise value has increased by a factor of twenty in sixteen months.

The math reflects three engines. First, the Chase Center lease. The Valkyries share the Warriors' building in San Francisco, meaning no separate arena operating expense and access to premium inventory the Warriors already monetized once. Season-ticket deposits for the inaugural season exceeded 18,000 within six weeks. Average ticket revenue per game in year one ran $1.9 million, nearly double the Liberty's $1.1 million and five times the league median. Second, the media rights tailwind. The WNBA's new eleven-year deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBC runs $2.2 billion total, up from $60 million annually under the previous contract. Revenue sharing pushes roughly $24 million per team per year starting in 2026, compared to $4 million previously. Third, sponsor density. The Valkyries announced a founding partner tier that included Rakuten, JPMorgan Chase, and Kaiser Permanente before the roster was finalized. Jersey patch rights went to Acorns for a reported $6 million annually, the richest WNBA patch deal on record.

The valuation also prices in scarcity. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said the league will consider further expansion only after the three newest teams—Golden State, Toronto, and Portland—complete their second seasons. That means no new franchise grants until at least late 2027. Meanwhile, informal inquiries for hypothetical expansion slots have reportedly come in above $150 million, three times the fee Lacob paid. The secondary market for majority stakes is thin but climbing. The Seattle Storm sold a minority piece in January 2025 at a $650 million implied valuation; the Phoenix Mercury followed four months later at $580 million. Both transactions involved family offices that missed the Valkyries bid.

Watch the Toronto franchise's year-two financials, expected to be disclosed in filings by June. If a second team crosses $900 million, the comp set widens and the Valkyries' multiple looks less like an outlier. Also watch Lacob's comments at the NBA Board of Governors meeting in July, where expansion economics for both leagues will be discussed in the same room. The Warriors are worth an estimated $8.3 billion, meaning the Valkyries now represent roughly twelve percent of the combined entity. That ratio matters for estate planning, for leverage in local political negotiations, and for the increasing number of allocators who want women's sports exposure but need a liquid exit story. The Valkyries are the first WNBA franchise where that story is no longer theoretical.

The league's next media rights negotiation opens in 2035. By then, the Valkyries will be ten years old.