Sports

Down to Business

Published

8 months ago

May 21, 2025

Everyone loves to gawk at the price tags billionaires pay for sports teams: $250 million for Angel City FC; $110 million in expansion fees for the newest NWSL franchise in Denver; and most recently, $26.5 million paid by Alexis Ohanian for an 8 percent stake in Chelsea Women, which values the team at $326 million (£245 million).

But what really goes into valuing a sports franchise, especially in women’s sports, where the revenue playbook is still being written?

I asked a handful of bankers and experts who work closely with investors interested in entering the space, and the answer is equal parts math, real estate and a little bit of storytelling.

Welcome to the first edition of Down to Business with Asli Pelit. Every other week, I will take you through the exciting, fast-changing and sometimes confusing world of fans’ favorite growth prospect: the business of women’s soccer. I can’t think of a better place to start than the flashiest numbers on the page, club valuations.

Valuation playbook darling: Revenue multiples

Traditionally, sports teams are valued using a variety of methods, including the income approach, market approach and asset-based approach. In short, the value of a sports team is determined by its future prospects (or cash flows), its brand value and its real estate investments.

But ultimately, as one of my favorite business school professors and the founder of Galatioto Sports Partners, Sal Galatioto, told me a long time ago, the value of a sports team is determined by scarcity value and by potential investors’ willingness to pay.

“It’s not just based on valuation, it’s based on scarcity, ego gratification and just wanting that asset,” he told me. “If you grew up as a fan of your favorite team and you have one opportunity that you may never get again to buy that team, you’re going to be a very aggressive bidder. You’re not focused on the numbers. You’re focused on winning.”

Despite the scarcity value and a billionaire’s willingness to pay, experts use a variety of data to calculate the value of a team.

One metric most bankers like to throw around is the revenue multiples. If a team pulls in $10 million in revenue and the average multiple in the league is 10x, you might say it’s worth $100 million. Sounds simple? It’s not.

“Revenue multiples for leagues are informed by real-world transactions,” Sportico valuation expert Kurt Badenhausen said. “It’s not necessarily linear all the way down the line because a big-market team in a brand new stadium is different from a team that plays in a small market and needs significant investment in their facilities, but each deal creates a data point.”

The average NWSL team is now valued at $104 million, according to Sportico’s 2024 valuations, a 57 percent jump from the previous year. That figure is based on standard metrics used in soccer team transactions. It’s a combination of local and national revenues, multiplied by a team-specific revenue multiple. For NWSL franchises, those multipliers range from 5 to 10, with an average of 6.8. By comparison, the WNBA averages a slightly higher multiple at 7.3. These multipliers are calculated based on prior team sales or, if the property has been around for a while, by dividing the market value by revenue.

To make things more complicated, revenue multiples don’t capture future growth or structural issues a team might still be working through, even in a close league case such as the NWSL. This is especially true for women’s teams, where many don’t own their stadiums and don’t have the same access to sponsorship dollars as men’s teams do. This is the main reason NWSL has been prioritizing franchise bids that come with a stadium or a practice facility plan.

Celebrity co-owners Patrick and Brittany Mahomes and CPKC Stadium bring value to the Kansas City Current. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

A stadium is not just a vanity project, it’s a value driver. The goal is to turn the team revenue positive as quickly as possible. However, there is a caveat. It only works if the real estate math makes sense in that specific market. Kansas City? Cheap land, no competition, big payoff for the local Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium. New York City? Not so much.

Still, across the sports landscape, owners are willing to spend not only to build stadiums but also entertainment districts around them and arenas that boast restaurants, bars, retail stores, apartments and hotels. These districts expand the reach, impact and opportunity for the stadiums, which can then be used as venues for other events such as concerts, fairs or festivals, generating additional revenue. It also gives owners access to valuable consumer data.

An example of this, again, is Kansas City as the team announced in March that it will build a $1 billion project around the stadium that includes mixed-use housing, retail space and public spaces on the waterfront.

Not successful on the pitch? Not a deal-breaker

While valuing a sports franchise, bankers examine not only the sports organization’s ability to maximize its tangible assets but also evaluate the team’s brand value, including winning championships or attracting marquee players. While this rule applies to most established European sports organizations, in the United States, on-field success does not matter as much. The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world at $10.1 billion, according to Forbes’ annual list of most valuable sports teams. They last won the Super Bowl in 1996.

Across the Atlantic, where women’s clubs are mostly bundled with the men’s side and where there is a risk of relegation, valuations get trickier.

Chelsea untangled its women’s side and sold it to another intra-group company, Blueco 22 Properties Limited, in 2022-23 at a £200 million valuation. The most successful women’s soccer team in England certainly shows on-pitch success, most recently capturing a treble of trophies with the Women’s Super League, League Cup and FA Cup titles. However, financially, it has not been easy to calculate what it can bring to the balance sheet.

But brand value is brand value, and Chelsea has that.

Alexis Ohanian bought an 8 percent stake in Chelsea Women in May. (Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)

Since Behdad Eghbali’s Clearlake Capital and prominent investor Todd Boehly bought the club in May 2022, the men’s side has not won anything, but it is still the world’s 10th most valuable club at $3.5 billion, according to Sportico.

“The odds are much greater that the New York Yankees will be here in 100 years than Apple will be here in 100 years,” Galatioto said.

No wonder so many venture capitalists are buying sports properties.

“They’re a little late. I’ve been preaching this for 30 years,” Galatioto said. “Nobody listened for the first 20, but they finally caught on.”

Expansion fees aren’t team valuations

When it comes to valuations, much of the confusion stems from people mistaking expansion fees for what a team is actually worth. An expansion fee is not the valuation of the team, it’s just the price of entry. While the expansion fee plays a small role in the valuation, what really matters is what you build after you’re in. How do you convert your investment into a team with a loyal and (hopefully) global fan base, secure sponsorship deals and have the infrastructure to support both?

Denver paid $110 million in expansion fees but committed to building a soccer-specific stadium and a high-end training facility, thinking long term and aiming for a valuable franchise in a decade from now. The Current, which joined the NWSL in 2021, paid a $5 million expansion fee when it relocated from Utah in 2020. And after four seasons, the team is worth $182 million, up 141 percent from the year before, because it opened its stadium and has the highest revenue in the league ($36.3 million), according to Sportico’s valuations.

“Not all franchises are created equal,” Badenhausen said. “Certain franchises in the NWSL have struggled to maximize their business opportunities, which is no different than any young sports league, and the same dynamics play out in mature sports leagues, such as the Athletics and Rays in baseball over the past decade or Arizona’s NHL franchise.”

Small clubs + big stars = No problem

When valuing a sports team, star power isn’t just a footnote, it is a multiplier. Celebrities such as Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Portman, Serena Williams and Alex Morgan don’t just bring capital: they bring media attention, sponsorship opportunities and built-in global audiences.

Their involvement generates headlines, draws fans who might never have cared about the sport and opens doors to partnerships traditional owners don’t have access to. Star power can elevate a team’s valuation beyond the balance sheet because fame, when leveraged well, turns attention into revenue.

Is $1 billion valuation around the corner?

That’s the million, sorry, billion-dollar question.

The real value of a women’s soccer team today is a cocktail of the right market, real estate value, brand potential and celebrity influence. Of course, star talent that brings eyeballs and social media followers isn’t bad, either. Revenue multiples are useful, but they can’t tell the whole story because the story is still being written.

Since Michele Kang reset the bar in NWSL by paying $35 million for the Washington Spirit, women’s soccer has bolstered growing momentum with no sign of slowing down. Following Kang’s (at the time) record-breaking investment, NWSL’s team sales and franchise fees skyrocketed by double digits and, most recently, to triple digits.

Michele Kang set the wheels in motion for exponential growth when she purchased the Washington Spirit. (James A. Pittman / Imagn Images)

Investors are not hesitating to open their checkbooks, and early investors are happy their bet on the league is paying back. Last year, Ron Burkle sold the San Diego Wave for $120 million to the Levine Leichtman family. Burkle paid a $2 million expansion fee for the Wave to join the NWSL for the 2022 season, similar to Angel City FC, which sold for $250 million to journalist Willow Bay and her husband, Disney CEO Bob Iger.

With the right investors and operators, a path to a billion-dollar valuation seems plausible.

“I don’t think it’s out of the question by any means,” one banker, who wished to remain anonymous because they are actively working on deals in women’s soccer, told me. “It will take time, investment, and execution from strong operators and investors, but I think there’s certainly a pathway there.”

As Galatioto puts it, sometimes all it takes is one billionaire who wants it badly enough.

(Top photo: Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)

Sports

Fall 2025 SouthCoast High School Girls Volleyball Super Team

Published

16 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jan. 9, 2026, 4:02 a.m. ET

The high school girls volleyball season on the SouthCoast was a strong one. Of the area’s nine teams, five — Dartmouth, Fairhaven, GNB Voc-Tech, Old Rochester and Wareham — qualified for the 2025 MIAA playoffs.

Old Rochester had the deepest run, reaching the Division 3 Elite 8 after winning the South Coast Conference Large Division crown.

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No. 2 UH men’s volleyball makes easy work of No. 7 Loyola Chicago

Published

31 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

The first Top 10 opponent of the season didn’t change much for the Hawaii men’s volleyball team.

The second-ranked Rainbow Warriors still haven’t allowed an opponent to reach 20 points in a set after sweeping No. 7 Loyola Chicago 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 in front of a Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 4,488 on Thursday night.

Kristian Titriyski had a match-high 11 kills and Adrien Roure added eight kills for the Rainbow Warriors (3-0), who hit .426 as a team.

Middle blocker Justin Todd had three aces and sophomore Kainoa Wade made his season debut and had two aces late in the third set.

“Obviously, offensively we’ve been pretty good so far,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “I like our serving. I don’t love it. I think there’s a lot to love. It could get really good.”

Hawaii’s serve receive held up against the Ramblers (0-1), who finished the match without an ace.

Hawaii had seven aces and 13 service errors, with seven coming in a first set in which Hawaii still had no problem rolling over the Ramblers.

Titriyski was a perfect 5-for-5 in kills and UH hit .650 with 15 kills in 20 swings and only two errors, which came on two Loyola Chicago blocks.

Setter Tread Rosenthal was aggressive hitting on two early and had three kills in the opening set. Roure added three, including a back-row kill on set point to take the early 1-0 lead.

Todd continued the onslaught by UH with three aces during a six-point run early in the second set to put the Rainbow Warriors ahead 8-2.

“I think I’ve always had a pretty good serve,” Todd said. “Just coming in freshman year, I could serve the ball pretty strong. It’s more just getting comfortable in the Stan and in the environment of playing in the game and having consistent technique when I serve.”

One of Todd’s serves was headed way out to the right but slammed into a Loyola Chicago player getting out of the way.

“The worst serve of the night was an ace,” Wade said.

Kainoa Wade substituted into the game to serve for Todd with UH ahead 22-18 in the second set. His season debut was extended a point when Louis Sakanoko made a kick save off a block that kept the play alive until a hitting error by the Ramblers.

Loyola Chicago was hitting more than .600 before three hitting errors in Hawaii’s final five points helped the ‘Bows extend their sets winning streak to eight.

The only suspense in the third set was whether or not Hawaii would allow 20 points for the first time this season.

A solo block by Rosenthal and a Loyola Chicago attack error out of the media timeout put the Rainbow Warriors ahead 17-12.

Hawaii led 18-14 when it rattled off six straight points.

Kainoa Wade subbed back into the game behind the service line and had two aces during his run.

“It’s really fun. I’m glad that (Todd) got all of those aces,” Titriyski said. “He deserves it. He’s been really consistent in practice and just in general his game is at such a high level.”

Todd, who practiced all fall as an outside hitter, moved back to middle, where he played last year, a week before the season started when the coaching staff realized they might be without 7-foot freshman Roman Payne for an extended period of time.

“It feels great to be playing,” Todd said. “I think we played really well. I think there’s a lot of things that we can fine-tune. We always have to consider when we win that we’re doing good, but there are a lot of things that we can do better.”

Sophomore middle Trevell Jordan had a team-high four blocks for UH, which finished with seven total.

It was the first match Loyola Chicago has played without an ace since 2022.

The two teams will play again tonight at 7.

NO. 2 HAWAII DEF. NO. 7 LOYOLA CHICAGO 25-18, 25-19, 25-15

RAMBLERS (0-1)

NO. PLAYER SP K E TA H% K% A SA SE RE D BS BA TB BE BHE PTS

28 Fabikovic 3 11 4 21 .333 .524 1 0 1 2 3 0 1 1 0 0 11.5

8 Sosa 3 9 7 18 .111 .500 0 0 4 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 10.0

21 Bell 2 3 3 6 .000 .500 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 4.0

27 Klein 3 3 3 7 .000 .429 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 4 0 0 5.0

6 Robbins 3 2 2 10 .000 .200 1 0 1 2 2 1 3 4 0 0 4.5

9 McElligott 3 2 0 2 1.00 1.0026 0 3 0 1 0 3 3 0 0 3.5

3 Sowa 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

7 Read 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

15 Hatch 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0.5

17 Deslauriers 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

22 Anderson 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Totals 3 0 19 64 .172 .469 30 0 13 7 12 1 16 8 0 0 39.0

RAINBOW WARRIORS (3-0)

NO. PLAYER SP K E TA H% K% A SA SE RE D BS BA TB BE BHE PTS

10 Titriyski 3 11 4 19 .368 .579 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11.0

7 Roure 3 8 2 14 .429 .571 2 1 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 9.5

23 Sakanoko 3 6 1 12 .417 .500 1 1 3 0 4 0 2 2 0 0 8.0

13 Rosenthal 3 5 1 6 .667 .83326 0 0 0 1 2 1 3 0 0 7.5

20 Jordan 3 4 1 6 .500 .667 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 4 0 0 6.5

9 Todd 3 1 1 3 .000 .333 0 3 1 0 4 0 1 1 0 0 4.5

22 Greenidge 3 1 0 1 1.00 1.00 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.0

4 Wade 2 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.0

11 Kearney 3 0 0 0 .000 .000 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Totals 3 36 10 61 .426 .590 32 7 12 0 13 3 8 7 0 0 50.0

T — 1:34. A — 5,804. Officials — Wayne Lee, Dickson Chun, Randy Rubonal, Hunter Haliniak.

Key — SP: Sets played; K: kills; E: hitting errors; TA: Total attempts; H%: Hitting percentage; K%: Kill percentage; A: Assists; SA: Service ace; SE: Service error; RE: receiving error; D: Digs; BS: Block solos; BA: Block assist; TB: Total team blocks; BE: Block errors;

BHE: Ball-handling errors; PTS: Points (kills plus blocks plus aces).

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Sports

T&F Set to Host Penn Select

Published

46 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania men’s and women’s track & field teams return to the Ott Center on Jan. 10, hosting the Penn Select.

Field events are scheduled to begin at Noon with weight throw, high jump, pole vault, and long jump. Running events will start at 2:00 p.m. with the women’s mile.

PENN SELECT

Saturday, January 10

Jane and David Ott Center for Track and Field | Philadelphia, Pa.

Live Results, Schedule of Events, Watch Live – (ESPN+)

Tickets – $5 Youth (2-12), $10 Adult

Teams Competing

Delaware State, Howard, LaSalle, Lehigh, Morgan State, Penn, Rider, Rutgers, St. Joseph’s, Temple, Townson, and Villanova.

Quaker Notemeal

Jessica Oji made her collegiate debut in shot put at the Penn Opener (Dec. 5), breaking the Ivy League indoor record with a mark of 17.72m (58′ 1.75″).

Adannia Agbo broke the school record in the triple jump recording a distance of 13.05m (42′ 9.75″), rank second in the NCAA.

Jake Rose won six of seven events in the men’s heptathlon scoring 5647 points, setting a school record.

Freshman Joseph “Tiago” Socarras took over the track in the men’s 1000m crossing the finish line first with a school record time of 2:20.39.

Penn closed out the meet with a fifth school record, as the 4x400m relay team of Leo Francis, Nayyir Newash-Campbell, Tiago Socarras, and Ryan Matulonis ran 3:09.78 to claim victory.

NCAA Top 25

2. Jessica Oji, Shot Put – 17.72m

2. Adannia Agbo, Triple Jump – 13.05m

5. Jake Rose, Heptathlon – 5647 pts

16. Matthew Kathiravelu, Triple Jump – 15.06m

22. Keira Beaumont, 60m – 7.44

25. Ryan Matulonis, 60m H – 7.96

25. Raina Pietrzak, Pentathlon – 3560 pts

6. Men’s 4x400m – 3:09.78

17. Women’s 4x400m – 3:45.22

Leading the Ivy League

Keira Beaumont, 60m – 7.44

Tiago Socarras, 1000m – 2:20.39

Ryan Matulonis, 60m H – 7.96

Mark Hellwig, High Jump – 2:06m

Jake Rose, Long Jump – 7.12m

Paris Ivery, Long Jump – 5.96m

Adannia Agbo, Triple Jump – 13.05m

Jessica Oji, Shot Put – 17.72m

Jake Rose, Heptathlon – 5647 pts

Men’s 4x400m – 3:09.78

Women’s 4x400m – 3:45.22

Ivy League Athlete of the Week

Jessica Oji – Dec. 9

Jake Rose – Dec. 9

Upcoming Meets

Jan. 17 – Quaker Invitational (Ott Center)

Jan. 22-24 – Penn 10 Elite (Ott Center)

Jan. 30 – Penn Invitational (Ott Center)

Jan. 30 – 31 – Stan Scott Invitational (Lubbock, Texas)

About the Ott Center

The 73,000-square foot facility on River Fields Drive is connected to the Hollenback Center, adjacent to the Schuylkill River and south of Penn Park. Designed to be filled with natural light, the new building features large, clear story windows which face the Schuylkill River and align with the multi-story windows on the flanks of Hollenback, which was originally the campus powerplant.

The facility is designed to honor Penn’s long tradition of excellence in track and field and will enhance and provide support to the Penn Relays – the oldest and largest track and field event in the country.

The facility contains a banked 200 meter running track designed around specific geometric relationships between the straight and curved track sections to produce optimal conditions for running events, two long jump/triple jump runways, two pole vault runways, an eight-lane infield for sprints, hurdles and high jump, and a throwing area for the shot put and weight throw. With spectator seating of more than 1,000, the Ott Center will be able to host a series of exciting youth, high school and college events for years to come.

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Sports

Michigan State Indoor Track & Field Returns to Action at Wolverine Invitational

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Wolverine Invitational

Date: Saturday, Jan. 10
Location: U-M Indoor Track & Field Building | Ann Arbor, Mich.
Live Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State track & field returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Wolverine Invitational.

This is the Spartans’ first meet since the holiday break. Michigan State will have several sprinters along with a group of field athletes in action.

The field events begin at 10:30 a.m., while the running events start at 11 a.m. Tess Roman will start the running action for MSU in the prelims of the 60m hurdles. Roman will also compete in the women’s shot put. Logan Allen and Dylan Terryberry will follow in the prelims of the 60m hurdles at 11:15 a.m. Last time that Allen competed at the GVSU Holiday Open, he set the Michigan State record with a time of 7.77 in the 60m hurdles.Terryberry will also be in action in the high jump.

In the 300m, Elizabeth Anderson and Alexys Wilson will compete for the Spartans in the final running event for the MSU women. In the field events, the Leila Barmore and Gabrielle Jeffries will be in action in the long jump.

On the men’s side, Michigan State will have three athletes in the 60m dash in Cameron Cheetam, Drew Novak and Carter Bissell. The Spartans will have two more men in field events. Adam Blue will contest the pole vault and Andrew Harding in the long jump.

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Five Volleyball Student-Athletes Earn Southland All-Academic Honors

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

NEW ORLEANS – Five New Orleans Privateers volleyball players earned a spot on the Southland Conference All-Academic Team that was announced by the conference office on Friday afternoon.

Courtney Roundtree, Defne Eciroglu, Vanae Sapp, Alessandra Meoni and Lani Alleman all earned spots on the team.

Roundtree has a 3.33 GPA as a Sociology major with a minor in Psychology. The senior middle blocker played every set this season and accrued 236 kills. For her career, Roundtree finished with 653 kills and 199 total blocks. She had a stretch of eight consecutive matches with 10 or more kills this season.

Eciroglu currently has a 3.87 cumulative GPA after the fall semester as a Chemistry major. The junior setter entered the top 10 in program history in career assists and now has 1,601 assists in her three years on the Lakefront. She had 713 assists and 198 digs for the 2025 campaign.

Sapp finished holds a 4.00 GPA while in a Master’s program for Education. Sapp transferred to the Privateers for her final year in 2025 and finished with 158 kills along with 228 digs. She had a pair of double-doubles against Lamar this season. Sapp also had 10 matches with 10 or more digs on the year.

Meoni is also a graduate transfer with a 4.00 GPA. She is in a Master’s program for Mathematics. Meoni finished the year with a team-high 249 kills and added 128 digs and 49 total blocks. She had five double-doubles on the season and had a 20-kill match against Nicholls and a 25-dig performance against East Texas A&M.

Alleman currently holds a 3.60 GPA as a Psychology major. The junior libero had 151 digs this season. She also finished her career in the top 15 in career digs per set in program history with 2.34. In her three seasons with the Privateers, Alleman finished with 658 digs in 259 career sets played.

These five women are the first Southland volleyball all-academic selections since Kaitlyn Grice in 2018.

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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Cross Country Lands Six on Academic All-MAC Team

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Mid-American Conference announced the 2025 Cross Country Academic All-MAC Team on Thursday morning, celebrating the achievements of 117 student-athletes who have excelled both in competition and in the classroom. The Broncos were headlined by six honorees on this year’s list.

The Academic All-MAC distinction honors student-athletes who demonstrate outstanding dedication to both their academic and athletic pursuits. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 and participate in at least 50% of their team’s competitions during the season.

Ava Kurczewski (3.93, Exercise Science), Lara Machado Pereira (3.76, Biomedical Sciences), Larissa McGrath (3.97, Biomedical Sciences), Lily Overton (3.70, Exercise Science), Lauren Sancrant (3.68, Strategic Communications: Public Relations) and Madison Zarembski (3.98, Elementary Education) were the representatives this season.

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