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Sports EdgeISABELLA'S ISLAYApril 22, 20263 min readAd-free
NWSL awards Columbus franchise for record $205M, Atlanta joins for $110M
Columbus pays double the previous expansion record; league now at 16 teams with no stated cap.
Sports Edge deskSports Edge · Huang GoodmanSource: The Athletic ↗
In plain words
Columbus pays **$205M** expansion fee, double Boston's June record, signaling NWSL franchise values rising faster than WNBA despite smaller revenue base.
$205 million
and Atlanta an estimated
$110 million
according to people familiar with the transactions
$100 million
Boston paid in June and sets a new floor…
105 percent more
than Boston did seven months ago for a market…
The National Women's Soccer League awarded expansion franchises to Columbus and Atlanta, with Columbus paying $205 million and Atlanta an estimated $110 million, according to people familiar with the transactions. The Columbus fee more than doubles the $100 million Boston paid in June and sets a new floor for North American women's professional sports valuations.
Both teams begin play in 2026. Columbus is backed by the Haslam Sports Group, which owns the NFL's Browns and a stake in the Crew. Atlanta's ownership group includes Arthur Blank's family office, already majority owner of the NFL's Falcons and MLS's Atlanta United. The league now has 16 teams after adding Bay FC and Boston this season. Commissioner Jessica Berman has not stated a final team count.
The fee escalation signals demand among NFL and MLS crossover owners seeking exposure to women's sports. The Haslams are paying 105 percent more than Boston did seven months ago for a market with roughly half the metro population. That premium reflects scarcity: the NWSL has awarded only eight expansion slots since 2020, while investor inquiries exceed 30 groups, per league sources. Columbus also benefits from infrastructure overlap with the Crew's Lower.com Field and existing front-office integration.
Atlanta's inclusion adds a warm-weather market and immediate synergy with Arthur Blank's MLS operations. The city hosted 68,000 fans for a 2021 USWNT friendly at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the largest standalone women's soccer crowd in U.S. history. The franchise will share that venue and training facilities with Atlanta United, lowering fixed costs and creating dual-header opportunities for sponsors. Blank's decision to enter follows his acquisition of a WNBA expansion team for Atlanta in 2025, suggesting a portfolio approach to women's sports rather than opportunistic cherry-picking.
The fee compression between Columbus and Atlanta—estimated at $95 million—likely reflects timing and market dynamics rather than league-imposed tiers. Columbus entered exclusive negotiations first and secured naming rights to the "record" designation. Atlanta's lower fee may reflect shared infrastructure advantages that reduce operating risk, making the investment attractive at a lower entry valuation. Both fees dwarf the $2 million Angel City paid in 2020, a 10,000 percent increase in four years.
Sponsors now face a 16-team league with no East or West imbalance and two ownership groups capable of writing eight-figure checks for jersey placement. The league's current media deal with CBS, ESPN, and Amazon runs through 2027. Renewal negotiations begin in mid-2026, and the timing of these expansions ensures both franchises launch before the next broadcast cycle. That sequencing gives rights buyers two additional markets and accelerates the league's push toward a $100 million+ annual media package.
Watch for Columbus and Atlanta general manager hires by late spring, followed by coaching announcements in summer 2025. Both teams enter the 2025 expansion draft with protected player lists due in November 2025. The Haslams and Blank organizations will likely poach front-office talent from MLS or NWSL incumbents; already, three league sources report incoming calls from assistants at existing clubs. The league's next expansion window remains undefined, but Berman has signaled openness to markets including Philadelphia, Denver, and a second Texas team beyond Houston.
The $205 million fee establishes a new baseline for women's sports franchise valuations. The WNBA's latest expansion team, Golden State, paid $50 million in 2023. The NWSL is now pricing at 4x that level despite smaller attendance averages and lower media revenue. The gap reflects investor belief in upside rather than current cash flows: NWSL teams averaged 8,000 fans per match in 2024, compared to 9,000 for WNBA teams. Columbus and Atlanta expect to exceed those figures immediately, given existing stadium infrastructure and ownership credibility. If they do, the next expansion fee will start at $250 million.
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