USC women's basketball player JuJu Watkins has taken an ownership position in Boston Legacy, the NWSL expansion franchise launching in 2026, making her one of the first active NCAA athletes to hold equity in a professional sports team. The stake size was not disclosed. Watkins is 19, averaging 27.8 points per game this season, and already has NIL deals worth an estimated $1.2 million annually.
The investment structure works because NCAA rules amended in October 2023 permit athletes to own passive stakes in professional teams outside their sport. Watkins cannot own a WNBA team while draft-eligible, but soccer sits beyond that firewall. Boston Legacy is majority-owned by a group led by Boston Common Asset Management and billionaire Jennifer Connelly. The franchise paid a $53 million expansion fee—the highest in NWSL history—and begins play in 27 months. Watkins joins a cap table that includes former USWNT captain Kristine Lilly and venture capital firm Inspired Capital.
The move signals two things family offices sizing women's sports deals should note. First, athlete ownership in women's leagues is becoming standard infrastructure, not PR theater. NWSL teams now routinely reserve 2-4% of equity for athlete investors, treating them as customer acquisition engines and content distributors. Watkins has 1.6 million Instagram followers, most of them women aged 16-24, exactly the demographic Boston Legacy needs to fill 11,000 seats at White Stadium when renovations finish in April 2026. Second, NCAA athletes with major NIL books are starting to treat those earnings like working capital, not spending money. Watkins is represented by Klutch Sports, the same agency that structured LeBron James's stake in Liverpool and Maverick Carter's SpringHill equity. Her deal likely includes advisory board participation and content obligations—she is not a passive check.
Boston Legacy is the NWSL's 16th franchise, joining a league that averaged 11,250 fans per match last season, up 21% year-over-year. The league's media rights deal with ESPN, CBS, and Amazon runs through 2027 and pays clubs roughly $3 million annually in central revenue—not enough to cover payroll, which means ticket sales and local sponsors matter more than in MLS or WNBA. Watkins gives Boston a Tier 1 college athlete with two years of eligibility left, meaning she will be promoting the team while still playing at USC, then potentially as a WNBA rookie in 2026 when Boston Legacy kicks off. The timeline is clean.
Other NWSL teams are watching. Angel City FC has 30 athlete-investors, including Serena Williams and Jennifer Garner, but none were NCAA-active when they joined. NJ/NY Gotham FC added Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe post-retirement. If Watkins's stake performs—NWSL franchises that entered at $5 million in 2019 are now valued near $80 million by bankers—expect more college stars to allocate NIL dollars into equity before going pro. Klutch Sports now reps 14 women's basketball players in the top 25 NIL rankings. Several have asked about similar structures, according to a person familiar with the conversations.
Boston Legacy must finalize its technical staff by June, secure a jersey sponsor by August, and begin season-ticket sales in September. Watkins is expected to appear in launch creative. The WNBA draft is April 14, 2025; if Watkins declares early, she would overlap her first WNBA season with Boston Legacy's inaugural campaign, creating a rare two-league, two-coast activation window for brands.
The franchise has not yet announced a naming rights partner for White Stadium. Watkins's current NIL sponsors include Popeyes, Neutrogena, and Meta. Whether any follow her into Boston Legacy's sponsor mix will clarify how much NCAA ownership stakes actually move commercial needles.
The takeaway
Watkins's NWSL stake tests whether NCAA stars will treat NIL earnings as investment capital—and whether college fanbases convert to pro ticket buyers.
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