The Golden State Valkyries paid $75 million for their WNBA expansion slot, making this the first women's professional sports franchise in the modern era to cross the nine-figure threshold at entry. The franchise begins play in the 2025 season at Chase Center, sharing the Warriors' arena and front-office infrastructure.
The price represents a 187% increase from the $25 million Atlanta Dream ownership paid in 2021. It also matches the Las Vegas Aces' reported enterprise value from the 2021 sale to Mark Davis. The Valkyries are backed by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who already own the Warriors, plus Sixth Street Partners, a private-equity firm that has taken stakes in the San Antonio Spurs, FC Barcelona, and Real Madrid. The league announced the franchise in October 2023 and formalized the entry fee structure in filings reviewed this month.
The expansion price matters because it resets the comp sheet. WNBA franchises have historically traded in the $10M-$15M range through the 2010s. Angel City FC, the NWSL expansion team in Los Angeles, paid $20 million in 2020 and set an early benchmark for what premium women's franchises could command in major markets. The Valkyries' price confirms that tier-one metros with existing arena infrastructure can now justify private-equity entry fees at parity with second-tier men's leagues. It also signals the WNBA's next expansion cycle will start at $75 million, not $25 million.
The timing reflects three converging factors. First, media rights: the WNBA is negotiating a new rights deal in 2024, with current projections suggesting a jump from $50 million annually to north of $200 million, per Sports Business Journal sources. Second, the Warriors' venue: Chase Center seats 18,064, and the Valkyries can sell corporate suites and sponsorships into the same inventory pool the Warriors use for $1 billion+ in annual arena revenue. Third, the talent pipeline: the 2024 draft class includes Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers follows in 2025, and JuJu Watkins in 2026, giving new franchises marquee rookies to build around in consecutive cycles.
The entry fee also clarifies the league's expansion roadmap. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has publicly targeted 15 teams by 2028, up from 12 today. The Valkyries are franchise 13. Toronto and Portland are the reported frontrunners for 14 and 15, and both markets will now negotiate from a $75 million floor, not a $25 million ceiling. That matters for ownership composition: at $25 million, celebrity-led groups could anchor bids with modest institutional backing. At $75 million, the bid requires either a billionaire or a private-equity lead with operating partners.
The Valkyries' arrival also compresses the timeline for competing women's leagues. The new women's hockey league, PWHL, launched in January 2024 with six teams and no disclosed franchise fees. Athletica, the planned track league co-founded by Alexis Ohanian, is targeting 2025 launch with 60 athletes and venture backing. Both leagues now face a comp problem: if WNBA franchises are worth $75 million, a startup league needs to explain why its teams are worth less, or why its revenue model is better, or both. The Valkyries' entry fee is the new denominator.
What to watch: the WNBA's media rights announcement, expected by March 2025, which will determine whether the $75 million entry price was early or late. The Valkyries' first season tipping off in May 2025, with the draft lottery in November 2024 setting their initial roster slot. And the Toronto and Portland expansion bids, which will test whether $75 million holds in markets without existing NBA infrastructure.
The expansion fee is public. The private-equity allocation inside Sixth Street's commitment is not. That's the number team operators are texting about this week.
The takeaway
WNBA expansion now costs **$75M**, triple the 2021 price, creating a new floor for women's franchises and compressing timelines for competing leagues.
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