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Columbus's $205M fee marks the NWSL's sixth expansion since January 2024 and sets a new floor for 2029 entrants nearing $225M.
$205 million
expansion fee
2028
meaning the Haslams paid
$68 million per season of wait time
for a league that charged Kansas City
$2 million
in 2020
Haslam Sports Group secured the NWSL's eighteenth franchise slot for Columbus at a $205 million expansion fee, the league confirmed Monday. The team enters play in 2028, meaning the Haslams paid $68 million per season of wait time for a league that charged Kansas City $2 million in 2020. The Edwards family co-invested; their stake size was not disclosed.
The Columbus franchise marks the NWSL's sixth expansion award since January 2024. Bay FC entered at $53 million in San Jose that spring. Boston and Denver both cleared $110 million to launch in March 2025. San Diego and Detroit followed at $150 million each for 2027 starts. Columbus is the first announced 2028 entry, and the fee represents a 36 percent premium over Detroit's close six months prior. The league has now banked $778 million in expansion fees in twenty-nine months, more than Major League Soccer collected in its first eighteen years.
Haslam Sports Group owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns and a majority stake in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. Jimmy Haslam acquired the Browns for $1.05 billion in 2012; the franchise is now valued near $5.2 billion by Sportico. The NWSL bet is comparatively modest but carries exposure to a property whose franchise valuations have moved faster than any North American league since 2021. Angel City FC sold a minority stake in 2022 that implied a $250 million valuation; resale comps in 2024 suggested the club had crossed $300 million. If Columbus tracks that curve, the Haslams' entry price clears fair value in under three seasons.
The timing matters for Columbus's stadium plans. Ohio State's renovated Ohio Stadium and Lower.com Field both sit within Columbus city limits; neither deal is finalized. The NWSL requires expansion clubs to secure a venue seating at least 15,000 by their first match. Haslam Sports Group has not announced a site, but people close to the process say a Lower.com Field modification is the likeliest path. The stadium currently seats 20,371 for MLS; reconfiguration for an NWSL tenant would likely reduce capacity to 18,000 and improve sightlines. That decision comes before any architect retainer, meaning the clock is already tight for a 2028 opener.
The Columbus award also clarifies the league's backlog. San Diego and Detroit are spoken for in 2027. Columbus now holds the first 2028 slot. League executives have privately told ownership groups in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte that 2029 is the earliest available entry, with fees expected to start at $225 million. That suggests the NWSL believes it can sustain a 20-team footprint by decade's end without saturating its broadcast or sponsorship inventory. ESPN's current rights deal runs through 2027; negotiations for the next cycle begin in earnest this fall. The number of teams in play when those talks close will directly affect per-team distributions starting in 2028.
Two indicators of second-order movement: technical directors at Detroit and San Diego have fielded calls from Columbus-adjacent coaches since the Haslam news leaked internally last week, according to people who heard those calls. And Nike's women's soccer category lead was in Columbus last Tuesday for reasons unrelated to Ohio State. Those visits do not happen on accident.
Watch for Columbus's general manager hire before the end of Q2 2026, stadium site announcement by September 2026, and a kit sponsorship pre-announcement sometime in early 2027. The Haslams prefer to move early on commercial inventory; the Browns locked Huntington Bank as a jersey partner eighteen months before the logo appeared on fabric. Columbus will likely follow that template, especially if the club wants to sell founding memberships before the calendar turns to 2027.
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