NWSL teams hit record $133 million average valuation: Reports

NEW YORK – With Angel City leading the way at US$250 million (S$320 million), the average value of a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team is up 57 per cent from 2023 to a record US$104 million, Sportico reported on Sept 25.

Citing conversations with team owners, investors and executives along with those involved in transactions, the report put the 14 franchises’ collective worth at US$1.46 billion.

Following Angel City, the Kansas City Current rank second at US$182 million, followed by the San Diego Wave at US$132 million and Bay City at US$121 million.

With the addition of Angel City and the Wave in California, the NWSL will set season records in 2024 in revenue, attendance and TV ratings.

Aided by celebrity support, Angel City set records for merchandise sales and sponsorship while selling nearly 16,000 season tickets in their inaugural season of 2022.

The Wave entered the NWSL the same year, setting a league mark with 20,718 fans per game last season. In comparison, in the last pre-Covid season of 2019, only two teams averaged 6,500 fans.

Angel City and the Wave each paid approximately US$2 million in expansion fees to join the league.

Meanwhile, former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry is close to purchasing a controlling stake in the North Carolina Courage from Steve Malik for approximately a US$108 million valuation, Sportico reported last week.

From the NWSL’s inception in 2013, the Portland Thorns, where legendary Canadian striker Christine Sinclair plies her trade, led the league in attendance through 2021 and, in 2019, they became the first team to average 20,000 fans per match – an exception at the time.

Sinclair, international football’s all-time top scorer with 190 goals in 331 appearances, has said she is retiring at the end of the season.

With new owners entering the NWSL in 2021 and the severing of the league’s relationship with United States Soccer, investment in the league went through the roof.

The league, which topped 1 million fans in 2022, will top 2 million fans in 2024 with the addition of the Utah Royals and Bay FC, along with a 26-game regular season – four games longer than in 2023.

With average attendance increasing by 10 per cent this season following a 32 per cent growth in 2023, half the league in 2024 is averaging 10,000 fans per game.

Regular-season revenue has also seen major growth in 2024, a 91 per cent increase to an estimated US$215 million. The Current lead the way at US$36.3 million, with the Chicago Red Stars last at US$6.5 million.

The league average is US$15.4 million, just below the Women’s National Basketball Association, which saw at least a 30 per cent increase due in large part to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s debut season.

It is not all good news, though, as all NWSL clubs are losing money at a record clip – between US$5 million and US$10 million, per team owners.

On the positive side, the league’s revenue growth rates are well above those in Major League Soccer and the English Premier League as NWSL owners continue to invest capital and build on their nine-figure assets. REUTERS, AFP