The National Women's Soccer League awarded its 18th franchise to Columbus on Monday for an expansion fee of $205 million, the highest entry price in women's soccer history and 24 percent above the $165 million Atlanta committed five months earlier. The team, owned by Haslam Sports Group—the family office behind the Cleveland Browns and Columbus Crew—begins play in 2028.
The deal does two things. It resets the floor for NWSL team valuations at a moment when private equity and family offices are pricing women's sports as growth assets, not charity adjacencies. And it crystallizes Atlanta's uncertain commitment. Under NWSL's phased payment structure, Atlanta's $165 million was contingent on subsequent franchises matching or exceeding that price. Columbus did, which means Atlanta's ownership group now owes the full amount—no renegotiation, no markdown.
The Haslams already own the Columbus Crew, so the NWSL franchise slots into an existing sports real estate and sponsorship stack. The Crew play at Lower.com Field, a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium opened in 2021 that will host the women's team. Shared infrastructure—ticketing, corporate partnerships, stadium operations—lowers the marginal cost of the second tenant and creates bundling opportunities for regional sponsors who want year-round soccer inventory. The Crew's kit sponsor is Acura; the naming rights holder is Lower.com, a residential real estate brokerage. Both deals are up for renewal before 2028, and both companies now have two Columbus soccer teams to package.
The $205 million fee also clarifies what NWSL teams are worth in secondary markets. Angel City FC, the Los Angeles franchise that launched in 2022 for an expansion fee of $2 million, was valued at $250 million in a 2023 funding round. Bay FC, which entered the league in 2024 for $53 million, plays in a stadium that seats 18,000 and draws tech money from San Jose. Columbus is neither Los Angeles nor Silicon Valley, but it has a purpose-built stadium, an ownership group with a $3.4 billion NFL franchise as its flagship asset, and a metro population of 2.2 million. The price reflects that mix: large enough to command a premium, disciplined enough to avoid overpaying.
The NWSL now has 18 teams announced, with 16 operational. Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC began play five weeks ago. Atlanta enters in 2027; Columbus follows in 2028. The league's media rights deal with CBS, ESPN, Amazon, and Scripps runs through 2027 and pays $240 million over four years—roughly $60 million annually for 14 teams when the contract was signed. The next negotiation begins in 2026, and the 18-team footprint, combined with three consecutive years of expansion fees above $50 million, gives NWSL's media advisors a valuation narrative that reads like American sports orthodoxy: scarcity, growth, and clean balance sheets.
What matters now is whether the $205 million fee becomes the new baseline or an outlier. The Haslams have the balance sheet to overpay for strategic fit. Not every potential owner does. The league has signaled interest in expanding to 20 or 22 teams by the early 2030s, which means at least two more franchises are in play. Markets like Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Phoenix have been mentioned. If the next fee comes in below $200 million, the Columbus price was an anomaly. If it exceeds it, the NWSL has a new entry cost, and secondary valuations adjust upward.
The Haslam family office is led by Jimmy Haslam, who bought the Browns for $1 billion in 2012 and the Crew for $150 million in 2018. His wife, Dee Haslam, has taken a public role in the women's soccer franchise. The family has no illusions about women's sports as a charitable play—this is a real estate and media rights investment with a soccer team attached. The Crew generate approximately $50 million in annual revenue; the NWSL team will start smaller but inherit the same sponsor relationships and facility economics.
Atlanta's ownership group now has clarity. Columbus's fee locked in the $165 million commitment, and the franchise begins play in 2028 at a yet-to-be-named venue. The group includes Arthur Blank, who owns the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, though his involvement is limited—majority control sits with a separate investor consortium. The structure was designed to avoid conflicts with MLS, which still views women's soccer as adjacent, not competitive. That calculation is aging poorly.