The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion, according to CNBC's 2026 WNBA franchise valuations released Thursday. The franchise played its first season in 2025.
No professional women's sports team in North America has reached ten figures this quickly. The Valkyries launched last May with a $50 million expansion fee paid to the league—a 1,900% paper return in fourteen months. The franchise shares ownership with the Golden State Warriors, plays at Chase Center, and draws from the same corporate sponsor pool that writes eight-figure checks to the NBA side. Season-ticket deposits for year two opened in November and cleared 18,000 names in seventy-two hours, according to two people familiar with the sales process.
The valuation matters because it resets the floor for the league's next expansion cycle. Toronto and Portland are expected to enter the WNBA by 2028, and both markets now face a $100 million minimum expansion fee based on league precedent of charging roughly 10% of the highest recent comp. The Valkyries number also gives current owners a mark for secondary sales—three franchises have quietly fielded inbound calls from family offices in the past six months, per two league executives who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. One Western Conference team fielded a $400 million all-cash offer in December and declined.
The speed is unusual but the multiple is not. The Valkyries' enterprise value sits at roughly 4.2x trailing twelve-month revenue, in line with mid-tier NBA franchises and well below the 6-8x range that marquee properties command. What changed is the revenue base. The franchise will clear $60 million in local media rights, sponsorship, and gate revenue this fiscal year, according to a person with direct knowledge of the financials. That figure includes a $22 million annual local media deal with NBC Sports Bay Area that runs through 2035 and a jersey patch with Charles Schwab valued at $8 million per year. Both deals were signed before the team played a game.
The rest of the league sits considerably lower. CNBC's report did not publish a full ranking, but two rival Western Conference franchises are valued between $250 million and $400 million, and at least four teams fall below $200 million. The gap reflects market size, venue control, and cross-sport synergies that most WNBA teams cannot access. The Valkyries play thirty-four regular-season and playoff games at a building the ownership group already operates 250 nights a year. Marginal cost of adding WNBA inventory is near zero; marginal revenue from filling 18,064 seats is not.
The valuation also clarifies the payoff timeline for Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, the Warriors' primary owners, who absorbed the $50 million expansion fee and an estimated $40 million in startup costs for facilities, staff, and marketing. Break-even was projected for year three. A $1 billion mark in year one turns the franchise into a balance-sheet asset that can secure credit lines, backstop other ventures, or simply sit as tradable equity in a portfolio that already includes a $7.7 billion NBA team.
Watch for Portland and Toronto to formalize bids by June, with final ownership groups named by September. Both cities have committed to building or renovating arenas with WNBA-specific locker rooms and training facilities, a requirement the league added in 2025 after the Valkyries set the standard. Also watch for minority stake sales in existing franchises—at least two teams are exploring 15-20% secondary offerings to institutional buyers, per a West Coast investment banker working both processes.
The WNBA's national media deal with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC begins in 2026 and pays the league $2.2 billion over eleven years, a 500% increase over the prior contract. The Valkyries will receive roughly $18 million annually from that pool, on top of local revenue that already exceeds the league average by a factor of three.
The takeaway
First WNBA team to $1 billion resets expansion fee floor to $100 million and triggers secondary-sale interest across the league.
wnbavaluationexpansiongolden statefranchise ownershipsports media
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