The NWSL granted Columbus its 18th franchise Tuesday, with Haslam Sports Group paying $205 million for a 2028 expansion entry. The league also confirmed Atlanta's previously announced $165 million fee will stand, locking in a two-tier pricing structure that gives existing ownership unequal economics and creates a grandfather clause mid-expansion cycle.
Haslam Sports Group—owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and a stake in the Columbus Crew MLS franchise—secured the Columbus slot after negotiations that began last fall. The $205 million tag is 24% higher than Atlanta's fee and represents the new baseline for any future bids. The team begins play in 2028, giving ownership three years to finalize stadium terms, secure kit sponsorship, and recruit front-office infrastructure. The league did not disclose revenue-sharing mechanics or whether Columbus receives different governance rights than Atlanta.
The dual-fee arrangement matters because NWSL expansion has moved faster than its financial architecture. Since 2020, the league added seven franchises and churned through ten ownership groups, including private-equity entrants, NBA crossover investors, and family offices treating women's sports as a diversity allocation with asymmetric upside. Franchise values climbed from roughly $2 million in 2019 to $53 million when Bay FC entered in 2023. Atlanta at $165 million and Columbus at $205 million represent a 287% increase in two years, but the staggered fees mean cap-table dilution hits unevenly. Owners who paid $53 million two cycles ago now sit alongside investors who paid four times that amount for similar equity stakes, creating governance tension when the league negotiates its next media deal or considers private-equity minority stakes.
The Atlanta exception likely reflects deal-timing friction. Sources familiar with the negotiation say Atlanta's group—led by a consortium including Falcons owner Arthur Blank—committed its fee before Columbus entered advanced talks, and the league chose to honor the earlier handshake rather than renegotiate upward. That decision avoids a lawsuit but leaves Columbus ownership paying $40 million more for entry into the same league structure. The spread also sets a precedent: future bids in Dallas, Phoenix, or Miami will almost certainly anchor to the $205 million Columbus benchmark, not Atlanta's discount.
Sponsors and kit manufacturers are watching the ownership mix. Columbus enters with institutional heft—Haslam Sports Group manages a portfolio worth north of $4 billion—and immediate MLS infrastructure overlap, including stadium access at Lower.com Field. That gives the franchise Day One sponsor-activation pathways and shared back-office costs, advantages standalone ownership groups lack. Kit deals in NWSL currently range from $1 million to $4 million annually depending on ownership's ability to bundle media and stadium inventory; Columbus can offer Crew co-marketing, a lever Atlanta does not have.
What to watch: The league's next media-rights negotiation, expected to accelerate in Q2 2025, will test whether the $205 million fee pricing reflects real franchise value or optimistic underwriting. Commissioner Jessica Berman has said the league targets 20 teams by 2027, which leaves two slots before Columbus kicks off. Dallas and Detroit are mentioned most often as finalists, and their bids will clarify whether $205 million was a ceiling or a floor. Also watch for Atlanta ownership's public comments; if they perceive governance dilution or unequal revenue splits, expect quiet lobbying for fee equalization or differentiated voting rights. Haslam Sports Group will name a team president by summer 2025, and that hire signals whether the franchise is positioned as a standalone asset or a regional portfolio play bundled with Crew sponsorship.
Columbus now has 1,095 days to turn $205 million into a functional franchise. The league has two more expansion slots before it pauses to let infrastructure catch up to ambition.
The takeaway
Columbus's **$205M** fee creates a two-tier cap table with Atlanta at **$165M**, setting future bid floors and uneven governance economics existing owners will test in the next media cycle.
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