The Golden State Valkyries are worth $850 million before tip-off, according to Sportico's 2025 WNBA franchise valuations released this week. The number marks the second consecutive year the expansion club has led the league, despite not playing its first regular-season game until May.
The Valkyries' figure is 2.4x the league median of $355 million and represents a 21% increase from Sportico's 2024 estimate of $700 million, published eight months before the franchise began operations. The gap between Golden State and the rest of the league widened: the Valkyries are now worth more than the No. 2 and No. 3 franchises combined. The New York Liberty sit second at $580 million, followed by the Los Angeles Sparks at $520 million. The median valuation climbed 18% year-over-year, but the Valkyries outpaced league growth by 300 basis points without revenue history.
The valuation logic rests on three structural advantages. First, the ownership group—led by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who also control the NBA Warriors—operates inside an existing $7.7 billion basketball enterprise with Chase Center infrastructure already paid for. The Valkyries share the building, front-office overhead, and media distribution deals negotiated at NBA scale. Second, the franchise entered the league during a national media-rights negotiation cycle, capturing upside from the WNBA's 11-year, $2.2 billion deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBC that begins in 2026. Third, the Bay Area corporate sponsorship base is deep and underdeployed in women's sports: the Valkyries announced $75 million in founding partnerships before their inaugural season, a figure that exceeds the total sponsorship revenue of several legacy franchises. Kaiser Permanente, JPMorgan Chase, and Rakuten wrote checks in the $10-15 million range for multi-year deals, according to three people familiar with terms.
The valuation also reflects transaction comparables. The Valkyries' $50 million expansion fee in 2023 set a floor; two years later, Sportico's model assumes a 17x revenue multiple, in line with recent NBA franchise sales but higher than the 12-14x multiples applied to mid-market WNBA teams. The spread suggests investors are pricing in Chase Center's 18,064-seat capacity and the Warriors' demonstrated ability to monetize premium seating. The Valkyries sold out their inaugural home opener in four minutes last month, with resale prices for courtside seats reaching $1,200 on StubHub, comparable to Warriors preseason inventory.
The gap between the Valkyries and the rest of the league creates a governance question the WNBA has not yet addressed publicly. Expansion fees are shared league-wide, but the Valkyries' incremental value accrues entirely to Lacob and Guber. If the franchise were sold today at Sportico's valuation, the $800 million gain would flow to Golden State's ownership group, not the 11 legacy teams that absorbed competitive dilution when the Valkyries entered. The league office has signaled interest in a second round of expansion—Portland and Philadelphia are mentioned most often—but has not clarified whether future fees will be indexed to the Valkyries' comparable or to league median. The difference is $495 million per seat.
The Liberty's $580 million valuation, up 16% from 2024, reflects new owner Clara Wu Tsai's investment in Barclays Center upgrades and a championship run that drove playoff ticket revenue above $8 million, per two people briefed on financials. The Sparks' $520 million figure incorporates a minority stake sale last fall that valued the club at $475 million; Sportico's model layers in expected revenue growth from a new local media deal launching in 2026. The Connecticut Sun, valued at $375 million, remain the league's most profitable team on an EBITDA basis, but their smaller market caps upside.
The next test of WNBA franchise pricing comes this summer, when the league is expected to formally announce expansion timelines for teams No. 14 and 15. Portland's ownership group, led by Seattle Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer, has been in quiet discussions with the league office since December. The expansion fee floor is now $100 million, double the Valkyries' 2023 entry price, according to a person familiar with league guidance.
The takeaway
The Valkyries' **$850M** valuation, **2.4x** league median, sets the comp for expansion fees likely to double from **$50M** to **$100M** by summer.
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