The Golden State Valkyries are the WNBA’s most valuable franchise ever, despite only being in their debut season.
According to market research by Sportico, the Valkyries’ are now valued at $500, setting a new record not only for the WNBA but for any women’s sports team.
Owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid a $50m expansion fee to launch the Valkyries as the league’s newest team in 2024.
Fourteen games into their debut WNBA season, Lacob and Guber have focused heavily on building the Golden State Valkyries into both a commercial franchise and fan-driven success.
A key decisionwas to stage home games at the 18,000+ capacity Chase Centre, making the Valkyries one of just six WNBA teams to share an arena as their male NBA team counterparts. This not only boosts visibility but also positions the franchise to generate significantly higher gate revenue than most teams in the league.
Early attendance figures have already set records. The Valkyries first-ever WNBA game at the Chase Center – a match-up between the Los Angeles Sparksb – drew 18,064, one o the highest single-game crowds in league history. The Valkyries lost 84-67.
Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen revealed the record-setting attendance for the Valkyries-Sparks opening day game generated more than $3m in gate revenue, with a further $3m being generated for other home games so far this season.
“The Valkyries are selling courtside seats for an average of $1,500 per game, comparable to some NBA teams,” said Badenhausen. “Total 2025 revenue should hit $70m, double what any WNBA club generated last year, and more than half of the teams in MLS.”
Fandom across the San Francisco Bay area for the team has also been felt, with the organisation confirming in November 2024 it had already sold 10,000 season tickets several months before the WNBA season started in May 2025.
Off the court, the Valkyries have secured several high-profile lucrative sponsorships in the form of Coinbase, Adobe and J.P. Morgan Chase, who became a founding partner of the WNBA team.
For Labob and Guber, the ownership duo now own the most valuable teams within the WNBA and the NBA, as the Golden State Warriors topped Forbes’ most valuable NBA franchises chart with a valuation of $8.8bn.
What may be even more impressive about the $500m valuation is the lack of superstar talent on the roster, although the team is in its first-ever WNBA season.
WNBA grows financially
It is no secret that the WNBA has been on an upward trajectory over the last two years in regards to attendances, viewership, and overall fan interest. The arrival of superstars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, alongside high-profile players like A’ja Wilson, has translated into WNBA team valuations skyrocketing.
The New York Liberty followed behind the Valkyries as the second most valuable WNBA franchise ($420m), followed by the Indiana Fever in third ($335m), Las Vegas Aces ($290m), and the Seattle Storm ($285m) rounding out the top five.
The average valuation per WNBA franchise has increased by 180% in just one year to $269m, with the Fever’s increasing outpacing every other team last season. Clarke’s meteoric rise as one of the most popular basketball players in the US has seen the Fever’s valuation skyrocket 273%.
If the Valkyries are able to draft or acquire a player with the same calibre of superstar status as Clarke or even as it male counterpart with Stephen Curry, the franchise’s valuation could continue reaching unprecedented levels.
