The average WNBA franchise is now worth $138 million, up 59% from $87 million a year ago, according to Sportico's 2025 valuations released this week. The Las Vegas Valkyries lead at $194 million, followed by the New York Liberty at $180 million and the Indiana Fever at $165 million. The bottom three—Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta—still clear $95 million each.
The jump rewrites the economics for anyone who underwrote the Toronto and Portland expansion franchises at $50 million apiece in 2024. Those teams join in 2026, meaning buyers paid ten cents on the Sportico dollar for teams that—if the model holds—will be worth triple their entry price before tipoff. Golden State's expansion bid for a 14th team, expected to price at $75 million to $100 million, now looks conservative if it closes before the next media deal.
The valuation gap between top and bottom has widened. Las Vegas sits $99 million above Atlanta, the league's lowest-valued franchise at $95 million. A year ago, that spread was $51 million. The driver is attendance leverage: the Liberty drew 17,735 per game in 2024, nearly 4x Atlanta's 4,600. Revenue multiple expansion follows ticket velocity, and Sportico's model rewards it. The Fever's 17,274 average in Caitlin Clark's rookie season vaulted Indiana to third, up from eighth a year earlier. Merchandise and local sponsorship followed the gates.
The Liberty's $180 million valuation comes eighteen months after owner Joe Tsai paid an estimated $60 million to buy out minority partners, giving him full control. That basis looks generous now. The Liberty sold out Barclays Center for fourteen straight home games last season and signed a local broadcast deal with MSG Networks that pays mid-seven figures annually, people familiar with the agreement said. Tsai has not taken a distribution; every dollar goes into player salaries and performance infrastructure. The bet is that the franchise becomes a media property when the national rights renew in 2027, currently valued at $60 million per year across ESPN, CBS, and Amazon. Early proposals from bidders are in the $200 million to $250 million range for a new bundle, according to league and network executives.
Las Vegas sits atop the list by design. The Valkyries paid $50 million to enter in 2026 but benefit from Mark Davis's cross-subsidy with the NFL Raiders, who already negotiated Allegiant Stadium terms and built out premium seating inventory. The team presold 6,200 season tickets before naming a coach or signing a player. Founding sponsor MGM Resorts committed $12 million over five years, and six additional casino operators are circling suites. The franchise begins play with a revenue base comparable to teams that have operated for twenty years.
The 59% jump compounds across the league's twelve current teams to $1.66 billion in aggregate value, more than the NWSL ($1.1 billion, per Sportico's last estimate) but still a fraction of NBA peer markets. The Dallas Wings, valued at $101 million, play in the same city where the Mavericks command $4.5 billion. The gap is structural: WNBA teams operate under a collective bargaining agreement that caps total player compensation at 50% of revenue, but most teams still lose money because fixed costs—arena rent, travel, insurance—run $15 million to $20 million annually even for low-attendance clubs. Profitability arrives when local revenue exceeds $30 million, which only New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Indiana are projected to clear in 2026.
The expansion pipeline complicates valuation methodology. Toronto and Portland will split $50 million equally into a league revenue-sharing pool, but their franchise values on day one—using Sportico's model—will register closer to $120 million each based on market size and arena quality. Golden State, if approved, would enter at a higher price but immediately rank in the top five by valuation due to Chase Center infrastructure and Warriors cross-marketing. The spread between entry fee and fair value creates an arbitrage window that private equity firms are modeling. Two family offices have asked the league office about acquisition timelines for existing teams, according to people briefed on the conversations.
The Liberty, Valkyries, and Fever now represent $539 million of the league's $1.66 billion total value—32% concentrated in three franchises. That's tighter than the NBA, where the top three teams account for 22% of league value. The concentration risk sits with teams that haven't built fanbases: Atlanta, Dallas, and Washington combine for $295 million in value but averaged under 5,500 fans per game in 2024. If the media deal doubles and those teams don't improve attendance, their owners will collect league distributions while operating at a loss, a subsidy model that works until it doesn't.
The next data point arrives in sixty days when Golden State's expansion application goes to a league vote. The bid is expected to price between $75 million and $100 million, roughly 60% of what Sportico says the franchise will be worth on opening night. If it clears, the gap between purchase price and modeled value will tighten further, and existing owners will adjust their basis assumptions upward. The Liberty and Valkyries are not for sale, but their valuations now set the comp stack for anyone who is.
The takeaway
WNBA franchise values jumped **59%** to an average **$138M**, but expansion teams bought in at **$50M**, creating a basis arbitrage family offices are tracking.
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