The Golden State Valkyries are worth $1 billion, according to CNBC's 2026 franchise valuations released this week. The franchise began play in 2025, making it the fastest WNBA expansion team to reach ten figures and the first in league history to cross the threshold.
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid a $50 million expansion fee in 2023. The franchise played its inaugural season at Chase Center in 2025 while construction continued on a dedicated 18,500-seat arena in Mission Bay, scheduled to open for the 2027 season. The Valkyries sold out 22 of 24 home dates in year one, posting a league-high average ticket price of $127 and securing $38 million in local sponsorship commitments before opening night. Forbes' competing valuation, released the same week, pegged the team at $780 million—a $220 million spread that suggests divergent assumptions on arena revenue potential and the value of the Warriors' distribution infrastructure.
The gap matters because it frames the acquisition math for the next wave of buyers. Toronto and Portland expansion franchises are expected to be awarded by late 2026, with reported asking prices between $75 million and $100 million. If the Valkyries' CNBC number holds, the implied 20x return in three years rewrites the underwriting model for women's sports assets. It also suggests the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement, which runs through 2027, is significantly underpriced relative to franchise enterprise value. Players currently receive approximately 50% of league revenue under the CBA, but that revenue pool does not yet reflect the step-function change in media rights or the premium local sponsors are paying for courtside in newly built arenas.
The Valkyries' sponsorship roster includes $6.8 million annually from Rakuten, which already anchors the Warriors' jersey, and a reported $4.2 million commitment from JPMorgan Chase for naming rights to a practice facility that does not yet exist. Both deals run through 2030. The franchise hired 34 full-time employees before its first game, more than half the league's rosters combined, and operates a separate ticket sales team from the Warriors despite sharing Chase Center suite holders. That organizational separation is unusual—and expensive—but it protects the Valkyries' sponsorship inventory from being bundled into Warriors packages at a discount.
What to watch: The WNBA's next media rights deal, currently being negotiated for a 2028 start, is expected to exceed $200 million annually, up from $60 million in the current contract. If that lands, the league's 12 teams split approximately $17 million each before local revenue, which changes the cash-flow profile enough to justify nine-figure purchase prices. Portland's ownership group, led by Raj Bhathal and Kirk Brown, is expected to submit a formal application by March 2026. Toronto's bid, quietly assembled by Larry Tanenbaum and backed by $140 million in committed capital, includes a 15-year arena lease at Coca-Cola Coliseum that starts at $2.1 million annually.
The Warriors opened their 2025 annual report with a photograph of Valkyries point guard Kierstan Bell at half-court, arms raised, before a crowd that paid $9.3 million in gate revenue on opening night alone. Lacob owns both franchises. He does not appear to be selling either.