Haslam Sports Group paid $205 million for the National Women's Soccer League's Columbus franchise, awarded Thursday, setting a new women's sports expansion record and quietly securing $165 million from Atlanta billionaire Arthur Blank in the process.
The Columbus fee—40% above Denver's $145 million and Boston's $120 million, paid 18 months ago—does not reflect a sudden doubling of the league's underlying economics. It reflects the Haslams buying into a market structure that Denver declined. Columbus will operate under the league's centralized media and commercial model, launched last October, in which NWSL retains control of national broadcast and sponsorship inventory. Denver and Boston operate under legacy agreements that allow franchise-level deals. League officials believe the centralized model scales faster, and Columbus's fee prices that belief. The league projects $100 million in annual media revenue by 2027, up from an estimated $15 million today, though no contract has been signed.
The second commercial benefit arrived via contractual contingency. Atlanta's $165 million commitment, announced in May 2024 with a 2026 start date, included language tying final payment to whether subsequent expansion teams matched or exceeded that amount. Columbus's $205 million triggers the clause. Atlanta pays in full. The league collects $370 million across two franchises instead of negotiating Atlanta downward to match Denver's price.
Worth noting who structured the Atlanta language. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, a former Wall Street lawyer, joined the league in April 2022 from the National Lacrosse League. She negotiated the CBS and ESPN extensions, launched the centralized commercial entity, and raised the average franchise fee from $2 million in 2020 to $157 million across the last four expansions. Team operators privately grumble that media projections remain unproven—the current CBS deal pays an estimated $1.5 million per club annually—but none have sold. Bay FC, awarded to a group led by Sixth Street in 2023 for $53 million, is already valued north of $120 million in secondary conversations, according to two family offices tracking the space.
The Haslams control the NFL's Cleveland Browns, NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, and MLS's Columbus Crew, purchased in 2018 for $150 million after blocking the franchise's planned move to Austin. Jimmy Haslam, the Pilot Flying J founder, has been buying sports infrastructure in Ohio since 2012. The NWSL franchise will play at Lower.com Field, the Crew's downtown stadium, which opened in 2021 at a cost of $313 million. Shared venue economics—staff, turf, sponsorship activation—give Columbus a structural margin Denver and Boston do not have. Denver's Kroenke family is building a standalone $100 million venue. Boston plays in suburban Somerville.
The franchise marks the league's 18th, though only 16 teams will compete this season. Atlanta launches in 2026, Columbus in 2027. NWSL capped expansion at 16 teams in 2022, then revised to 18 in 2024 after Boston and Denver bids cleared $100 million. League officials have since floated 20 teams by 2030, though no formal expansion process has opened. Cincinnati, Charlotte, and a second Los Angeles group have retained Goldman Sachs to prepare materials.
The Haslams' bid competed against two other Columbus groups and a joint Cleveland-Akron proposal. The league selected the Haslams based on venue, market, and balance sheet, according to two people with knowledge of the evaluation. The Cleveland bid lacked a stadium commitment. One rival Columbus group, led by local developers, offered $180 million and proposed sharing a renovated Crew Stadium, the MLS team's former home. The Haslams' offer came in late February, three weeks after the submission deadline.
Columbus becomes the second market operating overlapping MLS and NWSL franchises under single ownership, after Seattle. Sounders FC owner Adrian Hanauer controls Seattle Reign FC, purchased in 2019 for $3.5 million. That franchise is now valued near $80 million in informal discussions. The Seattle economics—shared ticket base, co-branded merchandise, combined sponsorships—lowered Reign's cost per fan acquisition by 40% in the first two years, according to team-supplied data reviewed by a sponsor evaluating Columbus.
The Columbus franchise will begin coach and front-office hires in May. The league has mandated 18-month launch windows since 2023 to allow proper academy and scouting buildout. Bay FC, which launched in February after 14 months, fielded a roster averaging 26.2 years old, the league's oldest, because it prioritized availability over pipeline.
The Haslams' $205 million sets the floor for Atlanta's final payment, locks Denver's discount into the record, and establishes the price for Charlotte or Cincinnati when the next window opens. League officials are already revising pro formas. The number everyone watches now is 24—the size of active roster spots, which owners want to expand to justify the media revenue projections. Commissioner Berman has floated 26 by 2026. Player salaries average $54,000, fourth-lowest among U.S. professional leagues.
The takeaway
Columbus's **$205M** NWSL fee triggered Atlanta's full **$165M** payment and set the centralized-model price for future expansion.
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