Haslam Sports Group, the family office behind the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew MLS franchise, has secured the National Women's Soccer League's 18th franchise for $205 million, according to people familiar with the transaction. The team begins play in 2028. The fee is the highest in league history and more than doubles the $100 million paid by Atlanta's expansion group announced last fall.
The Columbus award follows the debuts of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC five weeks ago. Both entered at $70 million and $60 million respectively, according to prior disclosures, meaning the league has now taken in north of $435 million in expansion fees across four franchises since mid-2024. The Haslam deal was negotiated over the past six months, according to one person, who said the bidding process involved at least two other groups targeting Midwest markets. Commissioner Jessica Berman declined to comment on the specific fee but confirmed the Columbus award in a statement Monday.
The $205 million number matters because it establishes a new pricing floor for women's professional sports franchises in the United States. The NWSL's previous record was Atlanta's $100 million, paid by a group led by Anheuser-Busch InBev heir Arthur Blank's family office and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus. The WNBA's last disclosed expansion fee was $50 million for the Golden State Valkyries, announced in May 2023. The Columbus figure suggests the NWSL is pricing ahead of the WNBA, even as the basketball league enjoys higher television ratings and more entrenched sponsor relationships. One family-office allocator sizing a minority stake in a women's sports property told me the $205 million fee implies an enterprise value near $250 million after accounting for stadium build-out and working capital, which would value the league's existing teams at multiples north of 3x trailing revenue for the better-performing clubs.
The Haslams' entry is not without complications. Jimmy Haslam, the group's principal, is currently under NFL scrutiny for alleged violations related to the Browns' 2022 handling of quarterback Deshaun Watson's contract. The league fined the Browns $5 million in that matter, and Haslam was required to step away from certain committee roles. The NWSL's board approved the Columbus franchise unanimously, according to two people familiar with the vote, suggesting the league views the NFL matter as contained. The Haslams also own the Columbus Crew, which shares a $314 million stadium complex with the new NWSL franchise. That venue, Lower.com Field, opened in 2021 and seats 20,011 for soccer, making it one of the few MLS-NWSL shared facilities already built to league specifications.
The Columbus market was considered a natural NWSL target. The city ranks 14th in metro population among U.S. markets without an NWSL team, and the Crew's average attendance in 2024 was 20,478, second in MLS. The NWSL's current 17 teams average 11,250 in attendance, according to league data through Week 3 of the 2025 season. The Haslam group will need to name a president and sporting director before the 2026 NWSL Draft if it intends to participate in player acquisition ahead of the 2028 season. The league's collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2026, and the next media-rights cycle begins in 2027, meaning the Columbus franchise will inherit whatever economic structure emerges from those negotiations.
Watch for the Haslam group to announce a stadium-naming-rights deal within the next six months. The Crew's venue is currently sponsored by mortgage lender Lower.com, but that contract expires in 2026, and the NWSL franchise could command a separate or bundled agreement. Also expect a kit sponsor by early 2026; the NWSL's apparel deal with Nike runs through 2027, but individual clubs control front-of-shirt rights. The league is also expected to announce its 19th franchise before the end of 2025, with Charlotte and Indianapolis still in the bidding process, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The $205 million fee is the number. The real question is whether the next expansion group pays $250 million or walks away.
The takeaway
The **$205M** Columbus fee resets women's sports franchise pricing and suggests NWSL valuations now exceed WNBA comparables.
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