The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion, per CNBC's 2026 franchise valuations published Thursday. The franchise launched in May 2025. No other WNBA team has crossed ten figures.
The valuation reflects $50 million in estimated annual revenue—double the league average—driven by Chase Center rental economics, Warriors cross-sell, and a sponsor base that includes Rakuten, JPMorgan Chase, and Kaiser Permanente. The Valkyries share basketball operations infrastructure with the Warriors, eliminating duplicate back-office spend. They sold 14,200 season tickets before playing a game. Median ticket price last season was $97, third highest in the league after New York and Los Angeles.
The number matters because it resets the floor for expansion. The WNBA charged $50 million for the Valkyries' franchise fee in 2023. Portland and Toronto paid similar amounts for teams launching in 2026. If Golden State can double in value in fourteen months, the league's next expansion round—expected 2027 or 2028—will open above $75 million per franchise. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told CNBC the league has received inquiries from 15 ownership groups since January, including three family offices with NBA stakes. Philadelphia, Nashville, and Austin have submitted preliminary market studies.
The valuation also clarifies what Joe Lacob paid for. The Warriors owner structured the Valkyries as a separate entity but staffed it with Warriors personnel: same ticket sales team, same corporate partnerships director, same Chase Center event ops. The franchise shares the Warriors' local TV deal with NBC Sports Bay Area, worth an estimated $12 million annually to the Valkyries. That deal expires in 2028. Engelbert has said the WNBA's next national media rights package—currently being negotiated with ESPN, Amazon, and NBC—will triple the league's annual payout to teams, from $2.5 million per team to roughly $8 million. Add local media upside and Golden State could see $25 million in annual media revenue by 2029.
Sponsors are already pricing in that future. Rakuten extended its jersey patch deal with the Valkyries through 2030 in February, paying an undisclosed sum CNBC estimates at $4 million annually—twice the WNBA average. The company's CMO told *Front Office Sports* the Valkyries deliver "NBA reach at MLS cost." JPMorgan Chase, a founding partner, has used Valkyries branding in California retail branches and plans to activate around the 2026 All-Star Game, which the league awarded to San Francisco in December.
The Valkyries finished 18-22 in their debut season, missing the playoffs by two games. Lacob fired head coach Natalie Nakase in November and hired Becky Hammon away from Las Vegas in December for a reported $2 million annually, making her the league's highest-paid coach. Hammon brought her Aces assistant, Darius Taylor, as associate head coach. The Valkyries hold the fifth pick in next month's draft and have $1.1 million in cap space, third most in the league.
Watch how Golden State uses that space. Hammon has said publicly the team needs a primary ball-handler. Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu equivalent, South Carolina's Raven Johnson, is expected to go top three. But the Valkyries have been in contact with Dallas about trading for Arike Ogunbowale, per *The Athletic*. Ogunbowale is a free agent in 2027. A sign-and-trade would cost Golden State draft capital and salary, but it would also give Hammon a 20-point scorer in year one. Dallas needs cap relief and is rebuilding.
The Valkyries' Chase Center lease runs through 2028. After that, they pay market rate or negotiate a new deal. Lacob has quietly explored building a second practice facility in San Jose, which would give the Valkyries their own year-round home and free up Warriors practice time. Preliminary budget: $60 million. At a $1 billion valuation, that is six percent of enterprise value for full operational independence. The math works if the league keeps growing.
Nashville's ownership group is watching. So is Austin's. The floor just moved.
The takeaway
Golden State doubled to **$1 billion** in fourteen months, resetting WNBA expansion pricing and proving the NBA co-tenant model works at scale.
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