The Golden State Valkyries reached a $1 billion valuation in their inaugural 2025 season, becoming the first WNBA franchise to cross ten figures and confirming that the league's expansion pricing was deliberately set below market. The team generated $78 million in revenue during year one, per CNBC's franchise valuations released this week.
The Valkyries' ownership group, led by venture capitalist Joe Lacob and private equity executive Laurene Powell Jobs, paid a reported $50 million expansion fee in 2023. The franchise is now worth twenty times that figure before playing a second season. The revenue number—$78 million in a league where the average team generated $38 million last year—reflects Chase Center's premium ticketing infrastructure, corporate sponsorship density in the Bay Area, and immediate merchandise uptake. The team sold out its season ticket allocation within six hours of going on sale in March 2024.
The valuation gap tells the story. Three years ago, the average WNBA franchise was worth $85 million. Today, the league-wide average sits at $265 million, a 212 percent increase driven almost entirely by the $2.2 billion media rights package ratified in July 2025. That deal, which runs through 2036, pays each team roughly $18 million annually in rights fees—more than double the entire salary cap. The Valkyries' $1 billion figure is an outlier, but the second-tier franchises are already trading above $400 million in private secondary transactions, according to three family office allocators who've reviewed term sheets in the past six months.
What matters for team operators: the Valkyries proved the WNBA can monetize a new franchise at NBA-adjacent rates when the market, the building, and the ownership group align. The Warriors' existing corporate relationships transferred cleanly. Rakuten, JPMorgan Chase, and Google all signed founding partner deals with the Valkyries before the roster was announced. The team's jersey patch deal with OpenAI—$12 million annually over five years—is the richest in WNBA history and triple the previous high-water mark. The Chase Center lease structure allows the Valkyries to capture a higher percentage of gate and concession revenue than expansion teams in other leagues typically manage, because Lacob owns both the building and the team.
For prospective franchise buyers, the Valkyries' numbers reset the pricing floor. The league is expected to announce at least two more expansion franchises by the end of 2026, with Philadelphia, Houston, and Nashville considered the frontrunners. Early indications suggest expansion fees will start at $100 million, double the Valkyries' entry price but still well below what the market now suggests franchises are worth twelve months post-launch. One sports banker who's advised on three WNBA transactions in the past eighteen months said his firm is modeling new franchises at $150 million to $175 million in year-one valuations, assuming average markets—not Warriors-tier infrastructure.
The risk for existing owners is margin compression. The new CBA, ratified in January 2026, raises the salary cap to $2.8 million per team by 2027 and guarantees players 50 percent of certain revenue streams, including merchandise and international rights. The Valkyries can absorb that; teams in smaller markets without arena control or deep-pocketed sponsors will need to grow revenue by 30 percent just to maintain current operating margins. The Las Vegas Aces, valued at $780 million, are expected to renegotiate their lease at Michelob Ultra Arena after this season. Their current deal, signed in 2018, predates the league's media windfall and doesn't include naming rights participation.
Watch for Philadelphia's expansion bid to formalize by March, with an announcement likely tied to the All-Star break. The Houston group, led by Tilman Fertitta, has been quieter but is expected to submit a formal application before the league's April board meeting. Nashville's proposal includes a new 5,500-seat arena in the Gulch district, though financing details remain unpublished. The Valkyries' head of corporate partnerships, hired from the 49ers in November, is already fielding inquiries from sponsors in other markets asking how the playbook transfers.
The Valkyries play their home opener against the Aces on May 14. Courtside seats are listed at $4,200 per game on the secondary market, roughly 60 percent of what Warriors playoff courtside costs.
The takeaway
WNBA expansion franchises now price at $100M+ after Valkyries hit $1B valuation in year one on $78M revenue and Warriors-tier sponsorships.
wnbafranchise valuationexpansionmedia rightsgolden state valkyriessports ownership
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