The NWSL awarded its 18th franchise to Haslam Sports Group for $205 million on Tuesday, a league record that simultaneously locked Atlanta's pending expansion team into a $165 million minimum valuation. Columbus begins play in 2028. Atlanta's fee, previously structured with performance clauses, now carries a floor equal to its originally announced figure.
Haslam Sports Group—owners of the Cleveland Browns, Columbus Crew, and Milwaukee Bucks stake—paid 24 percent more than the previous NWSL expansion record, set by Boston at $165 million in December 2023. The Columbus deal included standard media rights participation, a seat on the league's board of governors, and access to the NWSL's centralized sponsorship pool, which distributed roughly $11 million per club in 2024. The team will play at Lower.com Field, the Crew's downtown stadium, with a seated capacity of 20,011 and existing hospitality infrastructure already optimized for midweek matches.
The Atlanta franchise, awarded in principle in February 2025 to a group led by private equity principal Cam Kenney, had structured its $165 million fee with escalators tied to league attendance growth and Apple TV+ subscriber conversion rates. The Columbus transaction reset that math. NWSL bylaws require parity pricing within 18 months of the most recent expansion award, meaning Atlanta's contingent clauses now function as upside rather than downside protection. The Atlanta ownership group gains clarity; the league gains a confirmed $370 million in expansion capital across two markets within 14 months.
Two effects follow. First, the league's aggregate franchise valuation—18 teams at a blended average near $140 million—crosses $2.5 billion on a mark-to-market basis, a figure relevant to the league's ongoing negotiations with prospective media partners. The current Apple TV+ deal, signed in 2022 for $60 million annually, expires after the 2027 season. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman has been in quiet conversations with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon since November 2024. The Columbus and Atlanta fees provide a public comp for private negotiations: if franchise equity commands $205 million, rights holders can model subscriber acquisition costs against a demonstrably capitalized asset base.
Second, the Haslam family's playbook shows up in the Columbus operating assumptions. Dee and Jimmy Haslam bought the Cleveland Browns in 2012 for $1.05 billion, then controversially relocated spring practices to Columbus in 2021 to test central Ohio's appetite for year-round football engagement. The Columbus Crew, acquired in 2018 for an undisclosed sum after preventing a move to Austin, now draws 20,508 fans per match, sixth in MLS. The NWSL franchise inherits that ticketing database, corporate hospitality relationships with Nationwide, Cardinal Health, and American Electric Power, and a stadium lease structure already approved for 40-plus event days annually. The Haslams did not buy a startup; they bought distribution.
Atlanta's group, meanwhile, finalizes its stadium deal this summer. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to Atlanta United and the Falcons, offers 42,500 configurable seats but carries MLS overlap risk on 18 weekends per season. Kenney's group has been in parallel talks with Georgia State University about using Center Parc Stadium, a 24,333-seat facility in the Old Fourth Ward with lighter event conflict and more favorable rent terms. The Columbus comp suggests Atlanta can command premium sponsorship even at a smaller venue, provided the team launches with clarity on year-one attendance floors.
The league's advisory board, convened for the first time last week, includes Billie Jean King, Maverick Carter, and Condoleezza Rice. That group reviews expansion market readiness and media strategy. Columbus and Atlanta were both vetted under the new process, which requires prospective ownership to demonstrate $50 million in operating capital beyond the expansion fee, three years of P&L modeling, and pre-signed term sheets with at least two regional sponsors at $2 million annually or higher. Haslam Sports Group cleared those thresholds in January. Atlanta's group submitted revised financials in March after the Columbus fee was agreed in principle.
The next expansion window opens in 2026 for teams starting in 2029 or later. Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Tampa have all registered interest. The floor is now $205 million. The league office has made it clear that number moves in one direction.
The takeaway
Columbus's **$205M** entry fee just became the NWSL's new expansion floor and gave Atlanta's **$165M** deal a built-in guarantee.
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