The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1.02 billion, per CNBC's annual WNBA franchise valuations released Sunday morning. The team began play in May 2025. No women's sports property has reached ten-figure enterprise value on a standalone basis before today.
The figure reflects Chase Center co-tenancy, the $50 million expansion fee paid in February 2024, and a local media footprint that moves $220 million in annualized sponsorship and premium seating before the second season tips. The Warriors organization owns the Valkyries outright. Joe Lacob and Peter Guber declined comment through a spokesperson; CFO Jennifer Cabalquinto confirmed to CNBC that the club is break-even on operations excluding amortized expansion cost.
Context: The Las Vegas Aces, ranked second, are valued at $180 million. The New York Liberty sit at $165 million. The Valkyries entered the league last year alongside Toronto ($140 million) and Portland ($130 million). The jump separates Chase Center economics from the rest of the league. The Warriors sold 11,400 full-season equivalents for Valkyries games in year one, priced 40 percent below comparable Warriors inventory but 220 percent above league median. Salesforce, Delta, and Kaiser Permanente bought founding partner packages in the $8-12 million annual range—numbers previously unavailable in women's team sports. The NBA parent club runs both P&Ls under one front office; Valkyries merchandise is stocked in Warriors team stores, and the group sales team cross-sells both products to corporate clients who already lease suites 82 nights a year.
The valuation arrives as the WNBA negotiates its next media deal. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has circulated a term sheet seeking $250-300 million annually across linear and streaming partners, up from the current $60 million contract that expires after the 2025 season. League sources expect the Warriors' demonstration of premium willingness-to-pay in a major market to anchor negotiations with NBC, Amazon, and ESPN. One network executive, granted anonymity to discuss active talks, said the Valkyries' suite revenue alone—$18 million in year one—exceeds the entire sponsorship base of six existing franchises.
Rakuten, the Warriors' jersey sponsor since 2017 at roughly $20 million per season, extended to the Valkyries kit without additional payment in year one. That arrangement expires June 30. The company is in renewal discussions but has told the Warriors it expects to pay separately for Valkyries placement if the mark remains on both uniforms. Separate deals would likely value the WNBA patch in the $4-6 million range based on comparable assets; combined, the packages could approach $28 million. Nike produces both kits under the league's apparel contract, but the Warriors control local patch and court sponsorship inventory.
The franchise hired 46 business-operations staff before its inaugural season, separate from the basketball operation. That included a dedicated VP of partnership marketing, a premium services team of 12, and a content studio that produces Valkyries digital series distributed on Warriors platforms. The combined reach—9.2 million social followers across both teams—lets the Valkyries sell against an audience no other WNBA club can offer. Ticket revenue in year one was $22 million against a $19 million team salary cap and basketball payroll of $31 million including coaching and performance staff.
Two complications: The WNBA's collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2027 season, and player agents are already positioning around revenue splits in a world where one franchise is worth more than the prior league aggregate. Valkyries guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, who signed a $240,000 supermax contract last summer, told *The Athletic* in March that "the conversation changes when you see a billion with a B." League salary cap rules prevent the Warriors from paying materially above scale, but the CBA includes revenue-sharing triggers that activate if league-wide sponsorship exceeds $100 million in a calendar year. The Warriors' entry likely trips that threshold in 2026.
Second issue: Chase Center was built for 18,064 basketball capacity. The Valkyries averaged 11,089 paid attendance in year one, but only 7,200 for weeknight games against non-playoff opponents. Sellouts against Las Vegas and New York in August demonstrated ceiling, but the middle inventory moved slowly until the final homestand. The Warriors are experimenting with dynamic pricing and family-pack promotions for 2026; one front-office source said the goal is 80 percent paid capacity across all games, not sporadic sellouts.
Watch the media deal close, expected by July. The Valkyries' existence gives the league a talking point with rights buyers: scalable economics in a top-five market with corporate infrastructure already built. Also watch whether Lacob sells a minority stake to institutional capital. The $1 billion print creates a reference price for private-equity shops that have circled women's sports without a liquid entry point. Arctos Sports Partners and Sixth Street have both explored WNBA exposure; a 10-15 percent Valkyries sale would establish a secondary market.
The team's year-two home opener is May 16 against Minnesota. Salesforce will host 400 clients in a Chase Center club space it did not activate for year one.
The takeaway
First **$1B** women's sports franchise trades on Chase Center co-tenancy and **$220M** annualized revenue the rest of the WNBA cannot replicate.
wnbagolden state valkyriesfranchise valuationwomens sportschase centermedia rights
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