The National Women's Soccer League announced Tuesday that Columbus has been awarded an expansion franchise, bringing the league to 18 clubs. The market returns professional women's soccer to central Ohio for the first time since the NWSL's inaugural season in 2013, when the Columbus Bliss folded after one year. Ownership structure, venue agreements, and launch timeline were not disclosed.
The expansion arrives three weeks after the NWSL finalized a new footwear framework that restricts players to wearing brands holding league-level partnerships. The policy, effective immediately, limits on-field footwear to Nike, Adidas, Puma, and New Balance—companies that negotiated deals directly with the league office rather than individual clubs or athletes. The framework eliminates the previous model where players could accept personal endorsements from any manufacturer. The move mirrors NBA and NFL footwear protocols but represents new territory for a league that, until 2022, operated without centralized media rights.
Columbus marks the NWSL's fourth expansion award in 13 months. Bay FC and Utah Royals began play in 2024. Boston was announced in September 2023 with a 2026 start date. Denver received approval in August 2024, also targeting 2026. The cadence suggests the league office views 16-to-20 clubs as the near-term stabilization range before pausing to evaluate television inventory and scheduling density. Commissioner Jessica Berman has previously stated the league would not expand past 20 teams before the next media rights cycle, which begins in 2027.
The footwear framework and expansion timing are connected. The league is packaging assets—broadcast windows, jersey inventory, and now player footwear—into consolidated sponsor categories ahead of that 2027 negotiation. A four-brand footwear oligopoly creates scarcity for endemic sponsors while forcing apparel companies to bid at the league level rather than pick off individual clubs or marquee players. It also means Columbus enters the league under a revenue structure where certain sponsorship categories are already closed. The franchise will inherit a share of league-wide footwear revenue but cannot independently negotiate boot deals for its roster.
Columbus's previous NWSL failure offers context. The Bliss played at a rugby-specific stadium with 3,500 capacity and averaged fewer than 2,000 fans in 2013. The ownership group dissolved after one season, citing unsustainable economics. The market has since added the NHL's Blue Jackets in 2000 and MLS's Crew won the 2023 MLS Cup. Lower.com Field, the Crew's downtown venue, seats 20,000 and was built in 2021 with a reported construction cost of $314 million. Whether the NWSL franchise shares that facility or secures a separate venue will determine operating margin assumptions for potential investors.
The expansion fee was not disclosed, but recent comparables provide range estimates. Boston's ownership group, led by former U.S. Women's National Team players, reportedly paid between $50 million and $60 million in 2023. Utah Royals, a re-entry market with existing infrastructure, paid approximately $8 million in 2022. Bay FC's fee was undisclosed but believed to exceed $50 million given the San Francisco Bay Area media market size. Columbus likely falls between the Utah and Boston benchmarks—$30 million to $50 million—given the market's tier-two status and proven MLS support but prior NWSL failure.
The league's footwear policy has already triggered pushback. Several players with personal Nike or Adidas deals saw those contracts amended or terminated, with compensation shifting to league-distributed payments rather than individual endorsement fees. The National Women's Soccer League Players Association has not publicly opposed the framework, suggesting the league office negotiated revenue-share terms in advance. This structure—centralized sponsor control in exchange for pooled revenue distribution—mirrors the WNBA's model, where individual player marketing rights are significantly constrained compared to men's leagues.
For Columbus, the franchise represents a calculated bet on the NWSL's durability relative to 2013. The league now operates with a $240 million media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, and Amazon, finalized in 2023. Average attendance across the league in 2024 was approximately 9,500, up from 6,200 in 2019. Investor composition has shifted from single-family ownership to institutional and celebrity-backed groups, with recent buyers including Sixth Street Partners, Willow Bay and Bob Iger, and Chelsea Clinton.
The franchise is expected to begin play in 2026 or 2027, pending venue confirmation and front-office buildout. The league's competition calendar accommodates 18 teams within the current 22-game regular season structure, though expansion to 20 clubs would likely require a format adjustment. MLS operates with 29 teams playing 34 games, providing a rough structural ceiling for domestic professional soccer scheduling in the U.S. market.
The takeaway
Columbus expansion lands as NWSL centralizes footwear revenue ahead of 2027 media talks, limiting new franchises' independent sponsorship upside.
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