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Sports EdgeMACALLAN 1926May 24, 20263 min readAd-free
Haslam Sports Group Pays Undisclosed Fee for NWSL Columbus Franchise, 2028 Launch
The Browns and Crew ownership lands the league's 18th team as expansion fees climb past $100 million.
Sports Edge deskSports Edge · Huang GoodmanSource: USA Today ↗
In plain words
Haslam Sports Group's Columbus NWSL franchise enters in 2028 at an undisclosed fee likely exceeding $100 million, banking on shared MLS infrastructure and a two-year build window.
$100 million
after Boston paid a reported
$108 million
in 2023
2026
) and Boston (
2024
for roughly
The National Women's Soccer League awarded its 18th expansion franchise to Columbus on Tuesday, with Haslam Sports Group—owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and MLS's Columbus Crew—leading a consortium that will launch play in 2028. The league declined to disclose the expansion fee, but league sources peg recent valuations north of $100 million after Boston paid a reported $108 million in 2023.
The Columbus announcement completes a two-year expansion cycle that added Denver (2026) and Boston (2026) at steadily rising entry prices. Cincinnati entered in 2024 for roughly $60 million; Bay FC's 2023 fee sat near $53 million. The Haslam bid beat out Indianapolis and Cleveland, both of which submitted formal proposals in late 2025. Columbus offers Lower.com Field, the 20,000-capacity MLS stadium opened in 2021, and a metropolitan area of 2.1 million residents within an hour of Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh.
Haslam Sports Group brings established infrastructure and a mixed operational record. The Crew posted an average attendance of 20,520 in 2025, third in MLS, after a stadium rebrand and youth-academy overhaul. The Browns, meanwhile, remain mired in a stadium-lease fight with the city of Cleveland and have cycled through three general managers since 2020. The NWSL franchise will operate as a separate entity under the Haslam umbrella, with day-to-day management likely drawn from the Crew's front office. The league confirmed that Dee Haslam, who serves as co-owner of the Browns and chairs the team's diversity council, will hold a direct ownership stake.
The 2028 timeline buys the league breathing room. Denver and Boston both enter in 2026, pushing the roster to 16 teams and complicating scheduling in a league that already juggles international windows and CONCACAF obligations. A two-year gap allows broadcast partners—CBS, ESPN, Amazon, Scripps—to recalibrate inventory and gives the Columbus group time to build a technical staff without competing for the same pool of expansion-draft talent. It also telegraphs confidence: the NWSL expects its current media deal, signed in 2023 for $240 million over four years, to grow materially when rights come back to market in late 2027.
Sponsorship economics tilt favorably. The Crew currently hold deals with Acura, Nationwide, and Safelite, all with Ohio headquarters or regional concentration. The NWSL's national partners—Google, Nike, Ally Financial—have shown willingness to extend local activation budgets when ownership can demonstrate cross-sport leverage. The Browns' Berea training facility sits 140 miles north; shared back-office functions and joint hospitality packages are obvious moves. Whether that translates to competitive advantage remains unclear. Bay FC launched with comparable infrastructure in 2024 and finished 12th in a 14-team league.
The league's expansion math now hinges on two variables: media revenue per team after the next rights cycle, and whether team 19 and 20—rumored markets include Philadelphia, Nashville, and a second Los Angeles bid—can clear $125 million entry fees by 2030. Commissioner Jessica Berman told reporters the league would pause expansion after Columbus to "ensure competitive balance," but declined to rule out further announcements before the end of 2026.
Columbus begins technical-staff recruitment this summer. The Crew's sporting director, Issa Tall, told local media the organizations will remain "operationally distinct," which typically means separate coaches and separate scouting budgets, but shared legal, HR, and ticketing infrastructure. The expansion draft, if structured like prior cycles, will occur in late 2027, giving the Columbus front office roughly 18 months to hire a general manager and technical director before roster construction begins.
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