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The Valkyries' **$1B** valuation resets WNBA expansion pricing and accelerates the league's 2026 media rights negotiation, with player salary cap reopeners likely to follow.
$1 billion
according to CNBC's 2026 WNBA franchise valuations released Tuesday
$300 million
of that figure
$50 million
expansion fee to Joe Lacob's ownership group
11,200
fans per game and selling out
The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion, according to CNBC's 2026 WNBA franchise valuations released Tuesday. No other team in the league is within $300 million of that figure.
The Valkyries launched in May 2024 as the WNBA's 13th franchise, paying a $50 million expansion fee to Joe Lacob's ownership group, which also controls the Warriors. The team played its first season at Chase Center, averaging 11,200 fans per game and selling out 18 of 20 home dates. Season-ticket deposits for Year Two hit 22,000 names before the playoff roster was finalized. The franchise turned operating profit in Month Seven.
The valuation matters because it resets the price floor for every negotiation in women's professional sports. Las Vegas, Portland, and Toronto expansion bids were circulating at $75-$100 million asking prices as recently as November. That range is now irrelevant. The Valkyries number also exceeds the purchase price of the Minnesota Timberwolves ($1.5B in 2023, but structured with debt), the New Orleans Pelicans ($750M in 2012, inflation-adjusted to roughly $1B today), and the Memphis Grizzlies ($377M in 2012). It sits above the Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks before their recent sales, and the Pelicans before Gayle Benson bought full control.
The comp that matters: the Valkyries are now worth more than 40% of what Lacob's group paid for the Warriors in 2010—$450 million for a franchise that CNBC now values at $9.1 billion. That fourteen-year return drove Lacob's decision to enter the WNBA, where he told investors the growth curve could mirror the Warriors' 2010-2018 run. The Valkyries hit $1 billion in 20 months. The Warriors needed 36 months to double from $450M to $900M after Lacob bought in.
The league's collective bargaining agreement runs through 2027. Television rights are up for renewal in early 2026, with current deals paying the league roughly $60 million annually across ESPN, CBS, and Amazon. The Valkyries' valuation gives the league's negotiators a public comp when they sit down with broadcasters in March. Expect asks in the $200-$250 million annual range, which would still represent a discount to the NBA's $2.6 billion annual media deal on a per-team basis, but a 4x increase from current terms.
Player salary cap implications: the current max salary is $250,000. The CBA includes revenue-sharing triggers that activate if league-wide valuations or media deals cross certain thresholds. The Valkyries' number accelerates those conversations. The players' association has already filed notice that it intends to reopen salary discussions if the media deal exceeds $150 million annually, which now seems certain.
Watch whether Lacob takes outside capital. He has fielded calls from three family offices and one sovereign wealth fund since October, according to two people familiar with the conversations. A 10% stake sale at the $1 billion valuation would bring in $100 million in liquidity, likely used to fund a Valkyries-specific practice facility in San Francisco's Mission Bay, separate from the Warriors' facility in Oakland. Architectural bids are due in February.
The Valkyries play their home opener March 14 against the Las Vegas Aces. Chase Center has already sold 16,800 seats for that game at an average ticket price of $140, compared to $87 for last season's opener.
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