Las Vegas Aces estimated to have highest franchise valuation in the league

The GIST: Following up last year’s NWSL valuations, Sportico released estimated valuations for all 12 WNBA teams yesterday. Leading the pack? The back-to-back champions Las Vegas Aces at $140M, followed by the Seattle Storm at $135M.

• The sports business outlet spoke to 30 WNBA sources — including bankers, investors, owners, and team executives — over the past six weeks, and based its methodology on “control” transactions rather than limited partnership sales. Let’s dive in.

💰 WNBA franchises are collectively worth $1.16B, or $96M on average. This number includes real estate and assets such as practice facilities, which bolstered high rankings for the Aces and Storm. Conversely, limited infrastructure like smaller stadiums can hinder growth — the Atlanta Dream, who play in a 3.5K-seat arena far below league average, ranked last with a $55M valuation.

🃏 Owner Mark Davis’ investment in the Aces paid off. Since buying the team from MGM International for roughly $2M in 2021, Davis made Becky Hammon one of the league’s highest-paid coaches, built a $40M practice facility, and has seen his team win consecutive championships. Aces high.

⛈️ Seattle may be undervalued. Earlier this year, the Storm were believed to be the highest-valued WNBA franchise after raising $21M from 15 new investors at a $130M valuation, giving them a $151M post-money valuation. This helped fund a $64M practice facility and business office for the Storm, an asset that should appreciate and boost valuation.

🗽 The NY Liberty could quickly eclipse the Aces and Storm. The Liberty sits third in the league with a $130M valuation, but its $18M 2023 revenue was the highest in the WNBA. This success could continue in 2024 thanks to the franchise’s invested front office and superteam status, not to mention parent company BSE Global was just valued at $6B. Forget the big three.