The NWSL awarded an expansion franchise to Columbus on Tuesday, with the Haslam family paying $205 million for entry—the highest expansion fee in women's professional sports history and triple what Boston paid in 2023. The club launches in 2026, plays at Lower.com Field (capacity 20,371), and completes the league's two-club expansion push alongside Atlanta, which closed its own $200+ million deal the same day.
The Haslams—Dee and Jimmy, who control the NFL's Cleveland Browns and a $9 billion Pilot Flying J truck-stop empire—beat out Las Vegas in the final round of bidding. Columbus was not on NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman's shortlist six months ago. The bid surfaced after the Browns' 2024 season collapsed, Jimmy Haslam began delegating football operations, and Dee Haslam started attending NWSL playoff games unannounced. The family hired Excel Sports Management to run diligence in November; the term sheet was signed before Christmas.
The $205 million sets a new valuation floor across the league. Under standard expansion economics, existing clubs split the fee pro-rata, delivering roughly $14 million per team in immediate liquidity. More importantly, it benchmarks secondary-market stakes: Angel City's $250 million post-money valuation in 2022 now looks conservative. Sixth Street's $100 million equity injection into the league last year priced the median club around $160 million; Columbus implies that number is already $180 million to $200 million for clubs with owned stadiums and local broadcast deals. Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang paid $35 million in 2022. On today's math, she's holding a 5x in under three years.
The Atlanta franchise—owned by a group led by private-equity executive Jonathan Miller—closes within two weeks and plays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Commissioner Berman told reporters the league received 23 formal bids for the two slots. Las Vegas remains in active conversations for 2027 or 2028, but Berman said the league will pause expansion after Atlanta and Columbus to integrate the new clubs and negotiate the next media deal, which comes up for renewal in 2026.
The Columbus economics work because the Haslams already control the stadium. Lower.com Field is a $315 million soccer-specific facility opened in 2021, built for the MLS Crew, with club-level suites and a rail-adjacent site that draws from Ohio State's 47,000-student campus fifteen minutes south. The Browns organization will handle ticket sales and sponsorship; the NWSL club inherits a database of 18,000 Crew season-ticket holders and 130,000 Browns accounts. The Haslams are not hiring outside executives. Dee Haslam will chair the franchise; her chief of staff, Sarah Stanfield, moves over as president.
The $205 million fee does not include stadium costs, front-office infrastructure, or player payroll. The NWSL salary cap is $3.3 million per team in 2025, rising to $3.8 million in 2026. Columbus will enter the allocation draft with the first pick, typically a U.S. national-team player. The club has not announced a name, colors, or kit partner. Nike holds league-wide apparel rights through 2027; individual clubs negotiate local sleeve sponsors.
The valuation jump reflects two structural changes. First, the NWSL moved to a single-entity model in 2020, then reversed course in 2023, giving clubs control over local sponsorship, ticketing, and broadcast. Washington Spirit's local deal with Monumental Sports Network is believed to clear $5 million annually; San Diego Wave's partnership with Scripps delivers carriage on three regional channels. Second, CBS extended its national package through 2027 at $24 million per year, a 4x increase from the prior deal. That guarantees each club $2 million in central revenue before local deals or gate.
The Haslam-Browns connection introduces a new ownership archetype: NFL operators treating NWSL clubs as portfolio expansion rather than community passion projects. The Miami franchise, launching in 2025, is backed by Ares Management ($450 billion AUM). Atlanta's Miller ran Advancit Capital before selling to Investcorp. The league's new investor base writes nine-figure checks without needing a celebrity anchor.
Commissioner Berman will present a 16-club schedule model to the board of governors in March. The league played 22 games per team in 2024; expanding to 28 or 30 games increases inventory for broadcasters but compresses the offseason for national-team players, who face World Cup qualifying and the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil. Clubs want more home dates; the players' association wants rest periods longer than six weeks. Berman has until June to finalize the calendar before kit production locks in.
The Columbus announcement arrives 48 hours after the NWSL's championship game drew 2.1 million viewers on ABC—up 38% year-over-year and the league's most-watched match outside of a World Cup send-off friendly. Sponsors are adjusting. Google signed as league partner in October; Visa extended through 2028; Gatorade is negotiating rights to courtside signage at league events, a category that didn't exist three years ago.
Commissioner Berman told reporters the Las Vegas bid remains strong but lacks a stadium commitment. The Oakland Roots ownership group submitted a joint bid for both USL and NWSL clubs at a shared facility; that proposal is dormant pending city approval on a $400 million waterfront site. Phoenix and Austin submitted exploratory bids but withdrew before final diligence.
The next catalyst is March, when CBS and ESPN begin exclusive negotiating windows for the 2027-2031 media cycle. The league is targeting $80 million annually, up from $24 million today. Apple submitted an early-stage proposal for a streaming package; Amazon has not engaged. The 16-club footprint strengthens the pitch—more inventory, more time zones, more local ad dollars. If CBS walks, Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated interest in a package that pairs NWSL with NCAA women's basketball.
The Haslams plan to announce the club name and colors before the MLS season begins in February, when Lower.com Field will host a joint unveiling with the Crew. Dee Haslam has already met with U.S. Soccer federation president Cindy Parlow Cone about hosting a national-team friendly in Columbus in 2026. The club's first competitive match is scheduled for March 2026. Season-ticket deposits open next month.