Diana Taurasi, who spent all 21 seasons of her WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury and holds the league's all-time scoring record at 10,646 points, disclosed this week that she intends to pursue team ownership and has identified the Mercury as her preferred target.
The 42-year-old guard, who announced her retirement in September, becomes the second prominent basketball figure in 48 hours to surface ownership ambitions. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley told reporters Tuesday she wants equity in a potential Philadelphia expansion franchise. The simultaneous declarations arrive as the WNBA prepares to release its expansion timeline for teams 14 through 16, expected before April.
Taurasi's interest carries more operational weight than typical retirement nostalgia. She remains under contract with the Mercury through the current season in a front-office advisory role, salary undisclosed. The franchise sold in 2004 for approximately $10 million to a group led by Robert Sarver, who also owned the NBA's Phoenix Suns. When Mat Ishbia acquired both franchises in February 2023 for a combined $4 billion, the WNBA team represented roughly $65 million of that total by league insiders' estimates. Comparable recent transactions put current Mercury valuation north of $85 million.
The timing intersects with structural change. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told investors in January the league expects franchise values to double within 24 months as the new media rights deal takes effect. CBS, ESPN, Amazon, and NBC committed $2.2 billion over 11 years beginning in 2026, up from the expiring $60 million annual arrangement. Player salaries will rise in tandem—the current $1.46 million supermax becomes $3.1 million under the 2025-27 collective bargaining agreement.
Taurasi's pathway to ownership faces standard capital constraints. She earned approximately $8.5 million in WNBA salary over two decades, plus overseas income from Russian, Turkish, and Chinese leagues that likely exceeded $15 million. Nike, Gatorade, and BodyArmor endorsements added undisclosed sums. A minority stake of 8 to 12 percent in the Mercury—the range typical for founding players in recent MLS and NWSL transactions—would require $7 to $10 million at today's marks.
Precedent exists but remains narrow. Candace Parker joined the ownership group bidding for an expansion franchise in Nashville, currently delayed. Sue Bird holds a small equity position in the Seattle Storm's parent company, negotiated during her final contract extension. Breanna Stewart structured her 2023 New York Liberty deal to include what the team described as "revenue-sharing participation," language that stops short of governance rights.
Ishbia's posture matters. He told Arizona Business Magazine in November that he views the Mercury as "undermonetized" and plans to increase sponsorship inventory by 40 percent before the new broadcast windows open. Adding Taurasi to the cap table gives those conversations a recognizable face. The team already uses her likeness on 22 percent of its social impressions, per Hookit data through February.
Watch whether Taurasi's advisory contract converts to an equity grant by the end of the current fiscal year in September. Ishbia structured similar transitions for three Suns-adjacent executives in 2024. The Mercury's jersey patch sponsorship with PayPal expires in June, and the replacement negotiation would be the natural moment to formalize any ownership role. Philadelphia's expansion application window closes May 15, which will clarify whether Staley's interest pulls capital away from existing franchises or expands the buyer pool. Taurasi's agent, Bret Just, has represented four ownership-track retirements in the past 18 months across three leagues.
The WNBA has never had a former player hold more than 6 percent of a franchise. That number moves higher if the next expansion round clears $100 million per team.
The takeaway
Taurasi's Mercury stake would need $7M-$10M at current values; Ishbia's fiscal year ends September, watch for advisory-to-equity conversion.
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