2026 WNBA franchise valuations: Golden State Valkyries are first $1 billion team

The WNBA has its first $1 billion franchise.

And that franchise just started play one season ago.

CNBC released its ranking of the most valuable WNBA franchises in 2026, and it's the Golden State Valkyries that top the list with a $1 billion valuation.

After Golden State, the top five are the New York Liberty ($600 million), Indiana Fever ($560 million), Las Vegas Aces ($500 million) and Seattle Storm ($450 million).

So, how does a new team like the Valkyries skyrocket to the top of the ranking in just one year? CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian broke it down.

"Their revenue for the 2025 season was $73 million. In 2026, their revenue could exceed $90 million," Ozanian said. "The owners of the Valkyrie, Peter Goober and Joel LeCoe, they also own the Golden State Warriors of the NBA and they own the Chase Center where both the Valkyries and the Warriors play. This has given them a tremendous opportunity to cross sell sponsorships, to cross sell hospitality at the arena.

"They have tremendous scale at the building between the two teams and they've done a great job marketing the team. They really are a prime example of the fact that in the WNBA, the teams that tend to be the most valuable are those that play in NBA sized arenas and are also owned by people who own NBA teams."

Ozanian added that Golden State is set to have 12,000 season tickets sold this season, which would be a league record.

Ozanian also predicts that within the next five years, all well-run WNBA teams will reach the billion-dollar valuation. New owners coming in have invested significant money into their teams and are finding unique ways to boost profit. Star youngsters like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, among others, play a crucial role in growing interest, too.

Here's the full 15-team list...