Golden State Valkyries Valued at $500 Million—Most Valuable WNBA Franchise
A WNBA team is now worth half a billion dollars. Wild. Seeing such immense growth over the last two years has been thrilling to see. But what makes GSV’s success even more unique and impressive is that this is their inaugural season and they didn’t have a “Big” on their roster. And yet right out the gates the Golden State Valkyries are now valued at $500 Million; making them the most valuable team in the league and the first women’s professional sports team to reach that valuation.
The Valkyries’ monetary worth is a substantial increase from the expansion fee of $50 million paid by the ownership group in 2023. Yes, let that sink in for a moment. GSV is worth 10 times what Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid for the expansion team’s rights 20 months ago.
But it is not too surprising because the entire league is experiencing growth. The WNBA’s overall valuation has seen significant increases. With the average team now worth $269 million, a 180% increase over last season. And next year kicks off the league’s new media deals, which are expected to generate $260 million in annual revenue.
Nonetheless, not too long ago another WNBA team made waves regarding their valuation. Back in May, it was revealed that the New York Liberty was valued at $450 million after selling a minority stake in the team. This valuation at the time represented a record for a women’s professional sports franchise.
And now we have the Valkyries taking women’s sports even further. Even just taking a quick glance at BALLHALLA (aka Chase Center, where GSV plays); the numbers are looking real good. The team has sold out their first 10 home games. That’s 18,064 seats filled with fans. Moreover, besides having the hottest ticket in town the franchise is selling merchandise like hot cakes. With merch being sold in all 50 states and in at least 73 additional countries. Impressive indeed.
Golden State Valkyries Valued at $500 Million—Most Valuable WNBA Franchise
Heck, even Lacob is shook. He told the San Francisco Chronicle,
“It’s pretty hard to exceed my expectations because, you know, I have very high expectations. I’ve always been that way and you can’t really work here unless you also think that way. But having said that, this does exceed my expectations. I’m actually blown away.
It may seem like a very large number to people but it’s not surprising to me. Just based on the numbers, it should be a lot higher.
I’m glad the WNBA is being valued higher. But what matters to me is for the league, all the teams, to really execute. We’re raising the bar. And the whole league is going to have to execute. I don’t want to seem like we’re the grand masters or something, but there’s a bit of a blueprint being created here. It’s been a pretty unbelievable execution of a plan.”
Yes, the plan was obviously extremely sound. And it truly does set a nice precedent and pattern for others to follow. So then, we look forward to seeing what happens next in the league. Especially, as three new expansion teams will be coming in 2028, 2029 and 2030.
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