USC basketball guard JuJu Watkins has acquired an ownership position in Boston Legacy FC, the NWSL expansion franchise set to begin play in 2026. Terms were not disclosed. The 19-year-old sophomore becomes the youngest athlete-investor in the league's current ownership group, which already includes 21 former and current players across eight clubs.
Boston Legacy FC announced the investment Thursday. Watkins joins a roster that includes former USWNT forward Amy Rodriguez and ex-national team defender Kelley O'Hara, both of whom took stakes when the franchise was awarded last year. The club is majority-owned by a Boston-based family office led by Jennifer Epstein, who paid a reported $53 million expansion fee. Watkins will not hold a board seat. Her agent, Klutch Sports, declined to specify whether the stake came via direct capital or an equity grant tied to future promotional obligations.
The move lands while Watkins is averaging 25.3 points per game for USC this season and commanding an NIL valuation that IMG College pegs north of $1.2 million annually. She signed a multiyear footwear deal with Nike in 2023 and has active partnerships with Klarna, Meta, and Powerade. Boston Legacy represents her first disclosed team-ownership investment. Watkins has no public soccer background, though she posted a photo courtside at a U.S. women's national team match in Los Angeles last September wearing a custom jersey.
The signal here is appetite. NWSL franchises have added 47 athlete-investors since 2021, when the league began permitting active players to hold equity in non-competing clubs. That roster includes Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, and Candace Parker. Boston Legacy is the newest vehicle, and the club is aggressively courting young, high-visibility women from adjacent sports to build cross-promotional lift before kickoff. The franchise has yet to name a head coach, finalize a stadium site, or announce a primary kit sponsor. What it does have is a growing list of names with large social reach: Watkins commands 1.9 million Instagram followers, more than any current NWSL player outside of Alex Morgan.
For Watkins, the stake is a hedged bet. If she turns pro after this season—scouts project her as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft—her earning window tightens. WNBA rookie-scale contracts max at roughly $76,000 annually. Equity in a franchise that could be worth $100 million-plus at maturity, especially in a market like Boston with Fenway Sports Group money circling, offers asymmetric upside. The comparison is Caitlin Clark, whose Iowa visibility translated to $3 million-plus in NIL but whose WNBA salary this year will be under $77,000. Watkins is building the same portfolio logic: own the asset, not just the endorsement.
Boston Legacy FC is expected to name its head coach by March and will hold an expansion draft in November 2025. The club is negotiating with White Stadium in Franklin Park for a 10,000-seat venue, though permitting remains stalled. Watkins is scheduled to visit Boston in late February for a Legacy FC promotional event, according to a person familiar with the itinerary. Her USC season ends in early April if the Trojans make a deep NCAA tournament run.
The investor list now includes athletes who have never played soccer professionally but understand the platform math. Boston Legacy is betting that Watkins' college audience converts to ticket buyers, or at minimum, social engagement that sponsors can price. The franchise has not yet announced a jersey sponsor. Nike, Watkins' footwear partner, already holds NWSL league-wide apparel rights through 2027. Worth noting: Klutch Sports represents 14 NWSL players, creating a tidy funnel for future talent recruitment once the club begins roster assembly.
The takeaway
Watkins' stake signals NWSL franchises are now recruiting cross-sport equity partners for social reach ahead of operational milestones.
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