Haslam Sports Group will pay $205 million for Columbus's NWSL expansion franchise, beginning play in 2028. The National Women's Soccer League confirmed the award Monday, making Columbus the league's 17th team and the first announced since Atlanta cleared at $125 million last November. The $80 million delta—64% above the Atlanta benchmark—arrives five weeks after Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC kicked off their inaugural campaigns as teams 15 and 16.
The Haslams control the NFL's Cleveland Browns, the MLS Columbus Crew, and portions of the Milwaukee Bucks. Jimmy Haslam acquired the Crew in January 2023 for roughly $200 million, inheriting a downtown stadium complex and a supporter base that chased away the previous owner's relocation effort. The NWSL franchise will share Lower.com Field, the 20,000-seat venue that opened in 2021 and anchors the Crew's Astor Park development. The Crew averaged 20,817 paid attendance last season; the NWSL team will aim to convert crossover buyers inside the same facility calendar.
The fee structure tells the story. Boston and Denver each paid $53 million in late 2024, a figure that felt like a step-change from the $22 million Bay FC paid in early 2023. Atlanta's $125 million number six months ago suggested acceleration; Columbus's $205 million confirms it. League executives had been quietly shopping a $150 million–$175 million range to prospective ownership groups through early 2025, according to two people briefed on the process. The Haslams' final number reflects competing interest from at least two other Midwest-adjacent groups and a belief that the league's next media rights cycle—current deal with CBS and ESPN expires after 2027—will lift team valuations past $250 million.
The timing matters. The NWSL will negotiate its next broadcast package over the next 18 months, armed with attendance data showing the league averaged 11,250 per match in 2025—up 22% year-over-year—and a schedule expansion to 26 games beginning in 2026. Boston and Denver's early crowds have tracked above 13,000 per match, above internal projections. Sponsor categories previously reserved for men's leagues—automotive, financial services, enterprise software—are now in active conversations with NWSL commercial staff. The league added $47 million in sponsorship revenue in 2025, a 31% lift from 2024. Columbus enters that environment with a corporate base that already writes checks to the Crew and Browns, shortening the sales cycle.
The Haslams will need to staff front office and technical roles over the next 30 months. Morgan Proffitt, hired as Columbus Crew's chief business officer in January, will likely oversee dual-use venue operations; a separate NWSL general manager hire is expected by September. The coaching market is thin—most credentialed NWSL assistants are already attached to expansion projects or extension discussions with current clubs—but the timeline allows the franchise to poach from abroad or promote from the collegiate ranks after the 2027 NCAA tournament. Kit sponsor and jersey patch deals typically close 14–16 months before first kickoff, putting those negotiations in a Q2 2027 window.
The deal also clarifies the league's expansion roadmap. Commissioner Jessica Berman has referenced a target of 18 teams by 2030; Columbus fills slot 17. The 18th slot is effectively spoken for by a Cincinnati-based group that includes FC Cincinnati minority owner Meg Whitman and former P&G executive Jim Lenehan, though no formal announcement has been made. The league is unlikely to expand past 18 until after the 2027 World Cup, hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, when viewership data will inform the next valuation reset.
The Crew's existing supporter culture gives Columbus a structural advantage. The Nordecke—the stadium's north-end standing section—has organized around the Crew since 1996 and briefly kept the franchise in Columbus through a 2018 #SaveTheCrew campaign. Those same organizers are already coordinating NWSL watch parties and planning tifo displays for the 2028 opener. Crossover membership packages are expected to be announced in Q4 2025, allowing the franchise to bank deposits two full years before kickoff.
Watch for the Cincinnati announcement before July, likely at a fee near $210 million–$220 million, and the Columbus GM hire by early autumn. The league's media rights term sheet should be public by March 2027, giving outside observers a clean look at the valuation math that justified the Haslams' check.
The takeaway
Columbus's **$205M** NWSL fee—64% above Atlanta's November price—signals franchise values inflecting ahead of 2027 media talks.
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