SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries are now reportedly the most valuable team in the WNBA and any American women’s professional sports franchise.
The newest expansion team is worth $500 million, according to a report from Sportico. This is nearly double the average franchise valuation.
The record-breaking valuation is especially impressive given that the expansion fee to create the Valkyries was $50 million.
The team is in its inaugural season at Chase Center, where they became the first WNBA expansion team to hit 10,000 season tickets sold in their first season. They are owned by Joe Lacob, who also owns the Golden State Warriors, the NBA’s most valuable team.
Sportico estimates that the Valkyries should make more than $70 million in revenue in 2025, more than double what any WNBA team made in 2024.
The 13 franchises of the WNBA increased in value by an average of 180% over the last year, according to research by Sportico, which is more than “double the previous biggest year-over-year gain for a major sports league.”
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It was an exciting night for the Golden State Valkyries as they defeated the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark, considered to be the face of the WNBA.
According to Sportico, the teams are collectively worth $3.5 billion and on average, each franchise is worth $269 million, vastly more than the $96 million the average team was worth in 2024. The previous biggest year gain was seen by the NBA in 2014 after Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers.
TV ratings, merchandise sales, attendance and revenue increases over the last 12 months have led to the explosion of valuation for WNBA teams, per Sportico.
The second-highest valued team is the defending champion New York Liberty, which grew by 222% in valuation – the second-largest gain over the last year – and is valued at $420 million.
But the largest growth seen by a single franchise was seen by the Indiana Fever.
The Fever, led by superstar point guard Caitlin Clark, grew by 273%, ranking third overall with a $335 million valuation.
Clark’s arrival in Indianapolis in 2024 has made the Fever must-watch basketball. Sportico estimates that the team generated $34 million in revenue last season – nearly a 300% increase year-on-year – and their gameday merchandise sales per person were higher than any NBA team.
The Fever’s average of more than 17,000 home fans for games last season was more than six NBA teams this season and three MLB teams in 2024.
Sportico says it calculated its valuations through conversations with more than 30 people involved with the league, including bankers, lawyers, investors, consultants, team executives and owners. The totals include real estate assets tied to the franchises and are in line with each team’s revenues based on publicly available information and financial records.
ABC7 News contributed to this story.
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