The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion after one season of WNBA play, according to CNBC's 2026 franchise valuations released Thursday. No women's sports franchise has reached ten figures before. The next-closest WNBA team, the New York Liberty, sits at $340 million.
The Valkyries entered the league in 2025 as an expansion franchise, paying a $50 million fee to join. That same expansion slot would cost $200 million today if the league opened another bid window, per two family offices that sized WNBA allocations in the past six months. The gap between entry price and current valuation—20x in twelve months—is the sharpest mark-up in North American professional sports since the Vegas Golden Knights' NHL debut in 2017, which generated a 4x return over three years.
Three factors explain the speed. First, the Valkyries share ownership structure and basketball operations infrastructure with the Golden State Warriors, who run the $7.7 billion NBA franchise across the hall at Chase Center. The same ticket sales team, the same corporate partnerships group, the same premium hospitality staff. Overhead spreads across two franchises instead of one. Second, the Warriors already had 18,000 Chase Center season-ticket holders before the Valkyries played a single game. Conversion rate on Valkyries partial plans hit 41% in the inaugural season, double the league average for expansion franchises. Third, the Bay Area corporate base—Salesforce, Google, Visa, Oracle—treats WNBA inventory as premium spend, not charity allocation. The Valkyries closed $42 million in sponsorship revenue in year one, more than six existing WNBA franchises generate in total annual revenue.
The valuation also reflects timing. The WNBA signed an eleven-year, $2.2 billion media-rights deal in 2024 that begins this season, tripling the league's previous contract. That puts the Valkyries' pro-rata share of national media money at roughly $18 million annually, up from $6 million under the old deal. Local rights add another $8 million via NBC Sports Bay Area, which carries all non-national games and bundles Valkyries pre-game content into Warriors coverage blocks. The franchise is already EBITDA-positive, unusual for any expansion team in year one.
Team president Ohemaa Nyanin confirmed the $1 billion figure in a statement but declined to break out revenue or operating margin. She did note that the Valkyries drew an average of 14,300 fans per home game in 2025, second in the league behind only Las Vegas. Chase Center holds 18,064 for basketball, and the Valkyries are opening upper-bowl seating for twelve games this season to meet demand.
The valuation sets a floor for future WNBA expansion. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said the league will add two franchises by 2028, with Portland, Philadelphia, and South Florida as reported finalists. The Valkyries' $1 billion mark means those expansion fees will start at $150 million minimum, up from the $50 million Golden State paid two years ago. It also changes the math for existing owners. The Connecticut Sun, valued at $225 million in CNBC's ranking, have been rumored for sale since their majority owner took a board seat at a competing sports-media venture in January. Comps now start at 4.4x revenue, not 3x.
Sponsor renewals are the near-term tell. The Valkyries' founding partners signed three-year deals in 2024, which means renegotiation windows open this summer. If those renewal rates hold or climb, the $1 billion valuation looks conservative. If sponsors pull back to pre-media-deal pricing, the number softens. Either way, the Valkyries already have seventeen quarters of P&L data that didn't exist when they paid $50 million to enter the league.
The takeaway
The Valkyries' $1B valuation after one season resets WNBA expansion fees to $150M minimum and gives existing owners 4.4x revenue comps.
wnbavaluationgolden state valkyriesexpansionwomen's sportsfranchise value
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