On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with colleague Kurt Badenhausen about Sportico‘s inaugural WNBA valuations. They start with the Las Vegas Aces ($140 million), Seattle Storm ($135 million) and New York Liberty ($130 million). The average WNBA team is worth about $96 million.
Frist, the trio talks about the structure of the WNBA. The league was originally formed as single-entity, similar to MLS or NWSL, but eventually shifted to a model where the NBA held 50% of the “league” equity and the individual team owners (many of them also NBA owners) evenly shared the other 50%. Then in 2022, the league raised an equity round worth 16% of the league. That diluted both sides. Right now, the NBA holds 42%, the owners hold 42% and the investors, a group that includes Nike, Laurene Powell Jobs and Linda Henry, hold the other 16%.
The group talks about how the WNBA’s commercial outlook has changed in the last few years, but particularly in the last few months, with Caitlin Clark leading a rookie class that has sent TV viewership and attendance up dramatically. The Fever, Clark’s team, had the second lowest revenue in 2023, but are ranked sixth in the valuations. Badenhausen says a case could be made for them being #1, given the impact of Clark’s arrival.
They also talk about the WNBA vs. the NWSL. Both women’s leagues are seeing a steep uptick in valuations, and both are expanding. Even though the WNBA’s teams are worth more on average, the NWSL has sold new teams at a higher fee–$53 million vs. $50 million. They talk about why that is, and how justified it is. They also dive deep into the Golden State Warriors’ new expansion process. They paid the $50 million fee, and there are obvious other costs, but Badenhausen expects it will be the most valuable team in the league ($150+ million) when it debuts.
They close by talking about the 2024 WNBA attendance figures, a looming labor fight, and which league—the WNBA or NWSL–sells a $500M franchise first.
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