On the morning of May 4, the Golden State Valkyries made history as their players and 70 staff were waking up in homes across the Bay Area.
CNBC released its annual WNBA franchise valuations, and on $78 million in 2025 revenue, the Valkyries became the first ever women’s sports team worth $1 billion. It was an enormous milestone for the industry, which came just over 30 months after Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid a $50 million expansion fee in October 2023. But there was no immediate celebration from the team, led by president Jess Smith, which was preparing to open up its second W season later in the week.
Smith won the inaugural WNBA Business Executive Leadership Award last season after a wildly successful expansion campaign for Golden State both on and off the court. She told Yahoo Sports earlier that she expected this record valuation to arrive this early on.
“If you’re following the continued growth of each [women’s sports] league, and specifically the WNBA, this is just the beginning of what’s on the horizon,” Smith said. “When you look forward, you see what’s possible with more games, more visibility, more media dollars, more ticket sales, more merchandise and more international opportunities. Seeing the market grow as quickly as it did, especially in this specific league at this specific time, it’s a fair valuation and there are more teams that will get there soon.”
Smith joined Golden State in 2024 after a three-and-a-half year tenure as the head of revenue for the NWSL’s Angel City, the league’s most valuable franchise at $335 million. She ultimately did send a note of congratulations to her staff the day the Valkyries’ valuation was announced, because it’s something to be proud of, but the overall message was that there’s a lot more to do. While other teams chase the $1 billion threshold, Smith and the Valkyries are already hard at work devising and executing strategies and pathways to become the first women’s sports team to reach $2 billion.
“We did a great job,” Smith said, “but the opportunity is so much bigger.”
Why are the Golden State Valkyries actually worth $1 billion?
When outlets provide valuations for sports franchises, they use several key factors, most notably revenue multiples. Scarcity and investor optimism has driven the price of sports franchises higher each year, even for teams that are not wildly profitable but play in a growing and ascendant league like the WNBA. Despite pulling in just $19 million in revenue last season, the third-lowest total in the W, the Connecticut Sun recently sold for $300 million, nearly 16 times what they earned in 2025.
As the Sun plans a move to Houston for the 2027 season to revive the iconic Comets brand, CNBC already values the team at $400 million. The NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers were recently sold at a $4.25 billion valuation on a reported $315 million in 2025 revenue, a multiple of just under 13. By simply using the revenue multiple test, the Valkyries’ $1 billion valuation is just under 13 times their 2025 revenue.
“Valuations are tricky,” Smith said. “They’re a mix of any specific industry at that moment in time or product showing signs of growth. The multiplier is always a big component to valuation, and revenues are going to continue to see increases year over year.”
Golden State’s $78 million in 2025 revenue is nearly 44% higher than the next highest earning team, Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever, which pulled in $50 million. The Valkyries have sold out every game to date at the 18,000-seat Chase Center, which the team ownership group (which also owns the Golden State Warriors) owns, setting the all-time WNBA record for average attendance and total attendance. They expanded their season ticket holder base from 10,000 to 12,000, and demand is so high that interested fans are now asked to apply for a waiting list. Only 8% of Valkyries season ticket holders are also Warriors members, with a fan base primed for potential growth in the Bay Area and beyond.
Courtside seats for games are going for $1,500 for full season plans, with club access and luxury amenities fans would expect to see at an NBA or NFL game. But as affordability becomes a larger issue in sports and entertainment, Smith said many games have tickets available for as low as $12-15 with a game experience the Valkyries call Ballhalla available to all.
The Valkyries meet with their founding partners together on a quarterly basis as part of the team’s Impact Council. As women’s sports grows in scale and scope, executives from each company share information, create connections and discuss how to evolve along with the ecosystem. International initiatives have been discussed in places like France, Australia and Japan where signed and drafted Valkyries are from.
Golden State is thinking about when it should host leaguewide events, Smith said, presumably meaning All-Star weekend. CNBC projects that 2026 Valkyries revenue could exceed $90 million.
“If there’s an opportunity to keep growing,” Smith said, “we’ll do that aggressively.”
Franchise valuations are also determined in part by leaguewide growth and cost certainty. The WNBA’s new 11-year media rights contract is worth $3.1 billion, 6.5-times larger than the previous deal, with a clause to re-evaluate the deal after three years that will push revenues even higher. As TV ratings continue to rise, the league earned enough money to trigger revenue sharing with players for the first time in WNBA history. A newly signed collective bargaining agreement increased the average player salary more than fourfold, raising the salary cap from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million this season. For the Valkyries, paying $7 million in salaries even if revenue remains flat at $78 million is the kind of cost certainty investors crave.
There were also many opportunities the Valkyries couldn’t take advantage of because they lacked the proper bandwidth, Smith said. So they doubled the size of the marketing team in year two as they look to refine current processes with their staff and partners.
On the court, guided by general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and head coach Natalie Nakase, the Valkyries became the first expansion franchise team in W history to make the playoffs in year one. Kayla Thornton went from title-winning role player to first time All-Star. Veronica Burton was named to the All-Defensive team and was named the W’s most-improved player. The Valkyries entered the season with the most returning players of any team in the league, with key additions led by All-Star forward Gabby Williams and three-time WNBA champion Kiah Stokes.
Keeping the team together from year one to year two did not come without its costs, however. Golden State reportedly agreed in advance to trade the 8th pick in last month’s draft to Seattle to save salary cap space. That was not public knowledge when social media erupted in disbelief after that pick became LSU star, rapper and influencer Flau’jae Johnson, who would’ve been great for business in the Bay and an instant fan favorite.
“She’s gonna be enormous wherever she is,” Smith said. “She’s an incredible athlete and powerful person that’s talented off the court as well. All of these rookies coming into the W are amazing. You’re not only seeing the skills that they’re bringing into this league with the caliber of play, but because they’ve spent years storytelling, talking about those individual players, it’s really fun to see.”
Across the WNBA, Smith said revenue is going to continue to go up and to the right, with a 50% annual increase in ticket sales now commonplace and partnership opportunities rapidly expanding leaguewide. The expansion Toronto Tempo paid a $50 million fee in 2024 to join the league, and CNBC values the team at $325 million. The expansion Portland Fire paid a $125 million fee later that year and are now worth an estimated $380 million.
So it doesn’t seem that farfetched, given the rocket ship the Golden State Valkyries seem to be riding along with the league, that their valuation can double within the next few years if revenue and league popularity continues its steady, robust growth trajectory.
“If everybody does what they’re supposed to do,” Smith said, “then I don’t disagree.”
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