The WNBA's 13 franchises increased in value by an average of 180% over the past twelve months, according to Sportico's latest valuation study—more than double the league's previous single-year record and the first time median franchise value supports operating margin without subsidy. Golden State Valkyries, which began play in 2025, became the league's first $1 billion franchise in CNBC's 2026 rankings, a threshold no women's professional team has crossed before its second season.
The jump reflects three discrete tailwinds converging in a sixteen-month window: broadcast rights doubled under the league's new eleven-year deal with Disney, Amazon, and NBC (signed May 2024), attendance grew 48% year-over-year as eight teams moved into NBA-adjacent arenas, and sponsorship inventory sold out for the first time since the league's 1997 launch. The Valkyries' $1 billion mark is defensible—the team shares Chase Center with the Warriors, inherits their sponsorship stack, and sold 18,000 season tickets before its first tip. Chicago Sky, Las Vegas Aces, and New York Liberty are each now valued above $300 million, up from sub-$100 million two years ago.
What matters for allocators is the median, not the Valkyries outlier. Sportico pegs the middle franchise at roughly $185 million, which pencils to $7 million in annual operating income at a 4% margin—thin, but no longer requiring league subsidy or NBA parent cash. That margin assumes the new CBA's 50% revenue split with players (up from 20% under the old deal), which means teams can cover payroll, travel, and overhead without hoping a related NBA franchise writes a check. The Connecticut Sun, owned independently since 2003, is now worth $225 million and generated positive EBITDA for the first time in 2025, according to two people familiar with the financials. The math works.
Expansion is the tell. The league is adding Portland and Toronto in 2026, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert said publicly in December that a sixteenth franchise will be announced by mid-2026. Expansion fees are rumored at $150 million per team, up from $50 million for Golden State in 2023. That pricing only holds if new owners believe the median keeps climbing—and if they believe the $2.2 billion broadcast deal (which pays roughly $170 million annually) gets renegotiated upward when it comes up for extension in 2035. The next shoe is international rights, which are currently bundled into domestic deals but will likely be carved out when the NBA splits its global package in 2027.
Two risks: player salary escalation and venue economics. The new CBA's 50% split means every incremental revenue dollar is split evenly, so margin expansion requires either sponsorship growth or cost discipline. Most teams still play 15–20 games in mid-sized arenas (under 10,000 capacity), which caps ticket revenue unless they follow Golden State's model and move into NBA buildings. The Indiana Fever drew 17,000 per game in 2025 after moving into Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but that's the exception. Meanwhile, star players are already lobbying for European-style individual marketing rights, which would let them negotiate personal sponsorships outside the league's collective deals—a structure that fragments inventory and complicates the league's pitch to brands.
Watch for three signals by September: whether Portland and Toronto hit 12,000 season tickets (the break-even threshold for non-NBA arenas), whether Nike extends its apparel deal early (current contract runs through 2028), and whether any of the three teams still privately held—Connecticut, Minnesota, Seattle—test the market with a minority stake sale. The Valkyries' $1 billion valuation is a headline. The Sun generating cash is the franchise signal.
The WNBA enters its thirtieth season with thirteen teams that, for the first time, collectively support their own economics. The league has always had stars. Now it has a balance sheet.
The takeaway
WNBA franchises jumped **180%** in one year, with median valuation now clearing operating breakeven—expansion fees at **$150 million** reflect confidence the trajectory holds.
wnbafranchise valuationwomen's sportsexpansionbroadcast rightsgolden state valkyries
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