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Montgomery's **3%** Dream stake now worth **$8M+** as filed **$280M** valuation resets WNBA franchise comps ahead of expansion.
$280 million
with the WNBA league office
180% increase
from the
$100 million
Renee Montgomery and her co-investor group paid when they…
3%
equity and an executive suite title
The Atlanta Dream filed a team valuation of $280 million with the WNBA league office, marking a 180% increase from the $100 million Renee Montgomery and her co-investor group paid when they acquired the franchise in February 2021. Montgomery, who retired as a player months earlier, walked into the deal with roughly 3% equity and an executive suite title. That stake is now worth approximately $8.4 million on paper, before any preferential terms.
The filing arrives as the WNBA prepares to announce its next expansion market—Golden State and Portland are both building war rooms—and as the league negotiates a media-rights package that league sources say could land north of $200 million annually, up from the current $60 million. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been clear: new franchises will price above $100 million, and existing teams are resetting their books accordingly. Atlanta's number is the first hard comp since the San Francisco bid group circulated a $50 million entry-fee estimate in late 2023, a figure now laughably stale.
Montgomery's path into ownership was surgical. She joined a consortium led by Larry Gottesdiener, chairman of Northland Investment Corporation, which also brought in investor Suzanne Abair. The trio bought the Dream from former senator Kelly Loeffler in a deal structured explicitly to remove Loeffler after players threatened a boycott over her public opposition to Black Lives Matter. Montgomery became vice president and got a seat in the twice-monthly ownership calls where jersey patches, arena scheduling, and coaching changes are debated. She is the only former WNBA player to hold both roles simultaneously.
The valuation compounds twice. First, Montgomery's playing salary—she earned roughly $200,000 in her final season—means her equity position already represents a 40x return on what she might have made across two more years on court. Second, the Dream's local sponsorship revenue climbed 60% between 2021 and 2023, per league filings, powered by deals with Delta Air Lines, Invesco QQQ, and a regional Coca-Cola bottler. The team moved its practice facility to a new 52,000-square-foot complex in Brookhaven in 2022, which houses a content studio and a retail partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods. Those are the kinds of operating improvements that make exit multiples credible.
What makes the $280 million figure particularly useful is that it sets a floor for any WNBA team contemplating a sale or a bring-on of new limited partners. The Las Vegas Aces, who won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, are widely believed to be fielding quiet inquiries from family offices and private-equity scouts. The New York Liberty, owned by Joe Tsai, carries no debt and plays in Barclays Center, which makes comp analysis difficult, but brokers are now using Atlanta's number as the baseline for any East Coast franchise discussion. Connecticut, Indiana, and Washington suddenly look mis-priced if $280 million holds.
Montgomery has been careful not to declare victory. She told an investor panel in January that the Dream's business model still relies on league subsidy for roughly 20% of operating expenses, a figure she wants to eliminate by 2026. The team's local TV deal with Bally Sports South expires after next season, and Montgomery has been in conversations with streamers and regional sports networks about a direct-to-consumer offering. She has also floated the idea of a Dream-branded youth academy, modeled on European football clubs, with tuition revenue and sponsorship attached.
The league's collective-bargaining agreement expires in 2027. Player salary caps are expected to rise, and the Dream's payroll flexibility—currently around $1.4 million in total player comp—will be tested. Montgomery's dual role gives her a peculiar vantage: she knows what players want because she was one 18 months ago, and she knows what the P&L can bear because she sees it every quarter. That tension will define the next negotiation cycle, and Atlanta's front office will be where it plays out in real time.
Expansion bids for the two new franchises are due by end of Q2. Golden State's group, led by Joe Lacob, is expected to come in north of $100 million. Portland's pitch includes a practice facility already under construction. If either prints above Atlanta's per-team valuation, Montgomery's stake adjusts upward again, because WNBA valuations move as a class. The Dream play their home opener May 16. Courtside tickets are already $450.
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