The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion, according to CNBC's 2026 WNBA franchise valuations released Thursday. The expansion team played its inaugural season in 2025.
No other WNBA franchise crosses $500 million in the rankings. The Las Vegas Aces, the league's previous valuation leader, sit at $475 million. The Valkyries' number represents a 110% premium over the next-highest team and lands sixteen months after the franchise tipped off its first regular-season game. The team paid a $50 million expansion fee in 2023.
The math matters for three reasons. First, it resets the comp set for pending franchise sales—the Connecticut Sun's approved move to Houston involves an ownership group that now knows the ceiling is double what they thought six months ago. Second, it changes the return profile for private equity firms circling the league; Sixth Street paid $85 million for a stake in the San Antonio franchise in 2023 at a $151 million post-money valuation, and the Valkyries' number suggests that investment is already trading at a significant mark-up in secondary conversations. Third, it gives Cathy Engelbert a data point when she walks into media rights negotiations in 2027—the league's current deal pays $200 million annually across all partners, and a $1 billion franchise in a major market creates leverage she hasn't had before.
The Valkyries' number reflects Chase Center access, Bay Area sponsorship density, and Joe Lacob's operating playbook imported wholesale from the Warriors. The team sold out its 18,064-seat arena for 22 of 40 regular-season home games in 2025, posted $47 million in ticketing revenue, and locked $31 million in jersey patch and arena naming rights before the season started. Rakuten, already the Warriors' patch sponsor, paid a reported $6 million annually for the Valkyries' jersey—40% above the Las Vegas Aces' deal with MGM. Kaiser Permanente, Google Cloud, and Schwab renewed or extended within the first season.
Commissioner Engelbert, speaking at the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, said the Valkyries "have really helped raise the bar" and created a blueprint for market entry. Translation: the league office is using Golden State's revenue model to justify higher expansion fees for the three cities (Portland, Philadelphia, and Austin) that submitted formal bids in March. The original $50 million fee is no longer defensible when the asset appreciates 1,900% in thirty months.
The Connecticut Sun's approved relocation to Houston, announced the same week as the CNBC rankings, involves a sale price not yet disclosed. The Sun were valued at $265 million in CNBC's report. Houston's ownership group, led by a family office with energy and real estate holdings, will pay attention to the Valkyries' gate revenue and sponsorship velocity—the Bay Area team's model works in markets with Fortune 500 headquarters density and disposable income 20% above the national median. Houston checks both boxes.
Watch three things. Sixth Street and other PE shops will start pricing WNBA minority stakes off the Valkyries comp, not the Sun or Indiana Fever. Expect secondary bids for existing franchises to surface before the 2027 season. Second, the three expansion applicants will face a new fee floor—$75 million is the whisper number, up 50% from Golden State's entry price. Third, media rights. The current deal expires after the 2027 season, and the league will point to a $1 billion franchise as proof that the $200 million annual payout undershoots by half. ESPN, Amazon, and NBC all circled the league during the last negotiation; the Valkyries' number gives Engelbert room to ask for $400 million-plus and walk if she doesn't get it.
Golden State plays its home opener for the 2026 season on May 14. The season-ticket renewal rate for Year Two is 91%, per franchise sources.
The takeaway
The Valkyries' **$1B** valuation resets expansion fees, PE entry pricing, and media rights leverage across the league.
wnbafranchise valuationgolden state valkyrieswomen's sportsexpansionmedia rights
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