Golden State Valkyries Just Hit $850M and the WNBA Will Never Be the Same

The Golden State Valkyries are absolutely crushing it. For the second straight year, they're the most valuable franchise in the entire WNBA, and the numbers are wild. According to Sportico, the Valkyries are sitting at an $850 million valuation after dropping a league record $78 million in revenue during their inaugural 2025 season. That's not a typo. That's a brand new franchise printing money.

The Valuation Gap Is Telling You Something

New York Liberty is second at $600 million. Indiana Fever checks in at $560 million. The Seattle Storm, our own Pacific Northwest squad, is valued at $425 million. Phoenix Mercury rounds out the top five at $420 million. And then there's a hard drop off. Atlanta Dream sits at the bottom of the 13 teams that played in 2025 at just $280 million.

The crazy part? The average valuation across those 13 teams jumped 59% year over year to $427 million. That's massive growth. For perspective, the entire MLS averages $767 million per team, and the NWSL sits at $184 million. The WNBA is moving serious money now.

How Golden State Got Here First

The Valkyries aren't just winning on the court. They built something real off it. We're talking more than 10,000 season-ticket holders, which is legitimately elite for women's basketball. Add in sponsorship deals with United Airlines, Kaiser Permanente, AT&T, and Chase, and you've got a recipe for sustainable value.

Here's the really wild part: Golden State bought this franchise for $50 million in 2023. Two years later, Sportico valued them at $500 million. Now they're at $850 million. That's not just growth. That's a complete reimagining of what's possible in the WNBA.

The league is booming right now, and Golden State figured out how to ride that wave harder than anyone else. The rest of the WNBA is watching, and you better believe every other franchise is trying to figure out how to replicate it.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.