The NWSL awarded expansion franchises to Atlanta and Columbus on Tuesday, with the Haslam family—owners of the Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew—paying a record $205 million franchise fee for the Columbus team. The Atlanta franchise, whose ownership group has not been disclosed, was awarded simultaneously; fee terms were not published. Both teams begin play in 2026.
The $205 million figure is a 68 percent increase over Boston's $122 million expansion fee paid in 2023. League valuations have appreciated in compound annual terms at roughly 41 percent since 2020, when the Orlando Pride sold for an estimated $3.5 million. The rate exceeds Formula One's valuation trajectory between 2016 and 2023, when grid slots appreciated at 33 percent annually following Liberty Media's acquisition. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman declined to provide revenue multiples or EBITDA guidance during a Tuesday press call, citing competitive sensitivity.
The Haslam selection carries weight beyond the fee. Jimmy Haslam III and Dee Haslam control Pilot Flying J, the truck-stop chain with $45 billion in annual revenue, and operate the Browns with a reputation for high-cost, low-patience coaching cycles. Their Columbus Crew purchase in 2023 followed a $230 million valuation reset after the previous owner attempted to relocate the team to Austin. The NWSL franchise sits inside that sports holding structure, creating cross-promotional infrastructure the league has not previously accessed at this ownership tier.
Atlanta's franchise adds a 71,000-seat NFL stadium to the NWSL footprint, the largest venue capacity in league history. Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the 2018 MLS Cup and a UEFA Champions League match in 2024; the building's retractable roof and downtown location offer year-round event optionality the league's current stadiums do not. Atlanta United averaged 47,000 fans per match in its 2017 debut season. The NWSL team will operate under separate ownership, but scheduling coordination with Arthur Blank's United creates a scenario where the women's team inherits stadium infrastructure and ticketing systems built for seven-figure annual attendance. No NWSL team has exceeded 20,000 average attendance in a single season.
The expansion fee structure reflects the league's shift from survival economics to scarcity pricing. Between 2020 and 2022, the NWSL sold equity stakes in the league entity itself—$75 million from a consortium including Nike co-founder Phil Knight, and a subsequent $50 million raise led by Sixth Street—rather than individual franchises. Those rounds valued the entire league at approximately $475 million. The Columbus fee alone now implies a per-team valuation of $205 million for a 16-team league, or a $3.28 billion total league valuation, assuming no discount for expansion versus existing franchises. The math is rough, but the direction is clear: institutional allocators now model NWSL franchises as venture bets with public-market exit optionality, not as operating businesses.
Berman's office is fielding additional expansion inquiries for a target league size of 18 to 20 teams by 2028. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Nashville, and Philadelphia are understood to be in active discussions. Franchise fees for the next cohort are expected to exceed $250 million, according to two family-office advisors who have reviewed league materials. The NWSL's media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, and Amazon runs through 2027 and pays approximately $60 million annually; renegotiation begins in early 2026. The league has not disclosed whether expansion fees flow to existing team owners or remain at the league level, a detail that will determine whether franchises behave as cooperative partners or competitors in the next media cycle.
Columbus begins stadium planning in the first quarter of 2025. The Haslams are evaluating a downtown site near Nationwide Arena and a suburban location adjacent to the Crew's Lower.com Field. Atlanta's franchise will play at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with no current plans for a soccer-specific venue. Both teams begin rostering in late 2025 under the league's expansion draft rules, which allow one unprotected player per existing team. Watch for coordinator hires in the next 90 days and apparel partnership announcements before the NWSL Championship in November.
The takeaway
**$205M** Columbus fee resets NWSL valuation floor; next media deal negotiation in 2026 will test whether scarcity pricing holds under revenue scrutiny.
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