Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig laid out one of his key performance metrics when he took the role on a permanent basis in 1998, telling team owners, “Look, guys, in the end you can judge me by asset values. Because in the end, that is really the sum total of everything we do.”

That same measure can now be applied to the NWSL and commissioner Jessica Berman (above) on the heels of a record-level franchise sale in San Diego that dramatically resets team values across the league.

The Wave, a third-year franchise, has been acquired by the Levine Leichtman family from billionaire Ron Burkle for $113 million. The two-stage agreement, which could later bring the team value to $120 million, accelerates what has already been a dramatic run-up in team prices in the last two years. Recent deals across the NWSL include:

• New franchises, including Bay Area FC and a forthcoming team in Boston, that each carried $53 million expansion fees. 
• Y. Michele Kang’s $35 million acquisition of the Washington Spirit in 2022. 
• A $35.5 million deal last summer for the Chicago Red Stars led by Cubs and Sky co-owner Laura Ricketts that includes another $25 million to be invested in the club.  
• A sale in January of the Portland Thorns for $63 million.

Broad-Based Growth

In keeping with Selig’s edict, the underlying reasoning for the NWSL franchise escalation is not hard to understand. In 2023, the NWSL had a groundbreaking season with $240 million in media rights deals, record attendance, and higher national TV streaming viewership, giving women’s team sports unprecedented exposure on broadcast, cable TV, and streaming platforms.

The Wave pact also ties into a broader and historic escalation in popularity and exposure happening across women’s pro sports in North America. 

“As longtime supporters of the women’s game, Arthur [Levine] and Lauren [Leichtman] know well the impact that our league can have in our society, and as savvy investors, understand the opportunities in front of us to continue to grow our league and club businesses,” Berman said.

Meanwhile, the Utah Royals are also returning to the NWSL this season after folding in 2020. The club, as well as MLS counterpart Real Salt Lake, is now controlled by Jazz owner Ryan Smith and David Blitzer, the co-managing partner of the 76ers and Devils. Because of the state of the Royals, Smith and Blitzer are believed to have paid only $2 million to revive the club.

The NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday night will see the defending champions, Gotham FC, host the San Diego Wave on Prime Video before the regular season begins Saturday. Amazon is one of three new media partners, including ESPN and Scripps Sports, that will pay the women’s soccer league a combined $240 million over the next four years, alongside incumbent broadcaster CBS Sports.

The groundbreaking deals are set to give the NWSL unprecedented exposure for professional women’s team sports: 72 regular-season matches will be on free over-the-air networks, and 26 will be on mass-distributed cable channels. The remainder will be streamed on Amazon and NWSL+, the league’s free, new digital platform. Here’s what it will look like:

• ABC: Season opener / ESPN: 7 matches / ESPN2: 9 matches
• CBS: 11 matches / CBS Sports Network: 10 matches
• Scripps-owned Ion: 50 matches
• Prime Video: 26 matches
• NWSL+: 69 matches

More Than Money

Besides the huge increase in TV revenue, worth $60 million annually and beating out prior deals by a multiple of 40, the NWSL will now get four broadcasters, instead of one, promoting the league each week. Scripps is even launching weekly studio shows—another first for the NWSL—before and after matches, as well as in between Ion’s Saturday doubleheaders. And depending on how successful games on NWSL+ are, the league could look to start charging for that service or sell some of that inventory to new partners down the road.