WNBA Team Hit $1 Billion Valuation Milestone

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast Summary

Episode: WNBA Team Hit $1 Billion Valuation Milestone
Date: May 20, 2026
Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec
Guest: Jess Smith, President of the Golden State Valkyries
Main Theme:
The episode spotlights the business and cultural forces driving the WNBA’s growth, honing in on the Golden State Valkyries' record-breaking $1 billion valuation—making them the first women’s team in any sport to reach that milestone. President Jess Smith joins to discuss the behind-the-scenes strategies, wider implications for women’s sports, and the team’s rapid rise.

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1. Setting the Scene: 30 Years of the WNBA and a New Milestone

(01:50-02:35)

• Carol reminisces about the WNBA’s origins and celebrates its 30th season.
• The Golden State Valkyries, a brand new franchise, have already achieved a $1 billion valuation—unprecedented in women’s professional sports.
• Friendly banter acknowledges the team’s upcoming game against the New York Liberty.

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2. The Business Blueprint Behind the Valkyries

(02:57-04:17)

Jess Smith on Revenue & Community Building

• Jess highlights the deliberate, unapologetic approach to growing women’s sports:

  “For so long, people have talked about wanting more for women's sports…more games, more visibility…That starts with building business and making sure that you're doing that unapologetically.” (03:13 – Jess Smith)

• The WNBA blends sport, purpose, and culture. The fan experience is about deeper connection and community, not just the product on the court.
• Traditional revenue streams (ticketing, partnerships, merchandise) remain crucial, but so does innovation in expanding revenue and fandom.

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3. Demand for Women’s Sports: A Tipping Point

(04:17–05:00)

• Tim questions whether executives still need to prove market demand.
• Jess describes a fundamental shift:

  "For years, women's sports executives have had to prove that there is enough demand. Do you think that conversation has fundamentally changed?" (04:17 – Tim) “It has…We were able to build this way because of the work that's been done year over year over year. The WNBA is 30 years old…and visibility and game ratings and fandom is on the rise.” (04:24 – Jess Smith)

• Milestones like new collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) reflect the league's trajectory and show the ecosystem is catching up to its latent potential.

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4. Athletes as Multi-Dimensional Brands

(05:00-06:25)

• Carol explores the intersection of star players' social media profiles and team branding.
• Jess emphasizes a changing landscape:

  “What you’re seeing now ... is showing these multidimensional women -- some are fashion designers, some are really dedicated to building in the youth sports space ... idolization and fandom take a lot of different shapes.” (05:28 – Jess Smith)

• The league now allows young fans to see themselves in more than just the top players, deepening engagement.

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5. Listening as a Competitive Advantage

(06:25–07:31)

Fan and Community-Driven Strategy

• The Valkyries actively solicited fan input—even letting them influence the team name.
• Jess explains:

  “Most importantly, we've listened…Are you being intentional? Are you building what the fans are asking you to build? ... We want to make sure that we are building this Team with our community and with our fans.” (06:32 – Jess Smith)

• A collaborative, transparent approach yields passionate fandom and drives rapid growth.

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6. Replicating Fast Success: Golden State Culture and Investment

(07:15–08:49)

• The team’s playoff spot and rapid traction is partly credited to the Golden State ownership ethos—“an organization that wants to win.”
• Jess breaks down their dual focus:
  1. Winning culture: Set high expectations (e.g., owner’s vow to win a championship within five years).
  2. Fan investment: Prioritize fan experience, community, and relationships.
• Player buy-in is crucial:

  “They have ... created a culture where we had the most returning players come back to our roster. In addition ... two incredible free agents ... often you're not seeing people ... look to run to an expansion franchise, but a lot of credit goes to [the staff] in the connectivity and the trust that they've built with these players.” (07:31 – Jess Smith)

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7. The Broader Opportunity and Future Expansion

(08:49–10:06)

• Despite the billion-dollar milestone, Jess urges stakeholders not to underestimate the market’s trajectory:

  “Just how quickly it's growing? ... This is just the beginning. It's the beginning of the beginning, as Peter Cooper likes to say.” (09:00 – Jess Smith)

• The new CBA will increase the season by 15%.
• League expansion is accelerating: new teams in Portland and Toronto soon, with Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia joining by 2030.

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8. Memorable Quotes and Moments

• On milestone significance:

  “There's still the questions of, you know, okay, is this it? And the reality is this is just the beginning.” (09:00 – Jess Smith)

• On league expansion:

  “A ton of WNBA fans in Northern California. Then you get a team, then it’s rabid fandom ... that's good for everybody.” (09:45 – Jess Smith)

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9. Closing Remarks

(10:06–10:15)

• Carol wishes Jess luck ahead of the Liberty game and thanks her for the insights:

  “Good luck later this week and thanks so much for stopping by.” (10:06 – Carol Massar)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 01:50 – Episode begins; WNBA’s 30th anniversary; Valkyries intro
• 02:57 – Business side and New York market opportunities
• 04:17 – Shifting perceptions of demand for women’s sports
• 05:00 – Players as brands and social media influence
• 06:25 – Fan-first approach: naming the team
• 07:15 – Replicating success, investment, and leadership
• 08:49 – Billion-dollar valuation’s wider impact and future expansion
• 10:06 – Farewells and final wishes

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Summary Takeaway

This episode of Bloomberg Businessweek is a concise masterclass in the rapidly shifting economics and cultural capital of women’s sports. The Golden State Valkyries leveraged community-driven strategy, strong leadership, and rapid adaptability to make history—heralding a new era of investment, visibility, and inspiration in women’s athletics.

Transcript

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[Carol Massar]

You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stanvac on Bloomberg Radio. It is so hard to believe, but the WNBA is marking its 30th season this year. I actually, I talked about this earlier. I remember like where I was when I Learned about the WNBA. I was a 12 year old kid who loves sports and like this was such a big deal and it's grown into a, an not just an incredible business but also just an incredible experience. And on that we have with us the president of the Golden State Valkyries, Jess Smith is here. The team, not 30 years old, brand new, only joining the league last year already though valued at a billion dollars, it's the first women's team in any sport to reach that valuation. Welcome to New York. How are you?

[Jess Smith]

Thank you. We're happy to be here. Happy to talk about the Belgrase.

[Carol Massar]

Okay. Well, you know you have some New Yorkers here, so. And you guys play the Liberty later this week. So we're gonna try to keep things, you know, civil. Civil.

[Jess Smith]

I mean, so you're telling me you're not cheering for the Valkyries? Just to confirm.

[Carol Massar]

Listen, we are unbiased journalists, okay? Who are just focused on, you know, asking the questions and getting the good answers.

[Jess Smith]

Well, you both look great in violence,

[Carol Massar]

so that's what we're gonna do. Can you talk a little bit about just the business side of this? Because the valuation is just mind boggling after a year. You said to us as we were talking, you, you're in New York a lot because there are a lot of business opportunities here. What is the business behind the team right now?

[Jess Smith]

Well, I think, you know, to back up. For so long, people have talked about wanting more for women's sports. More games, more visibility, et cetera, and of course, more payment for the players. And that starts with building business and making sure that you're doing that unapologetically. And so the opportunity is really that there is a unique audience as well as an audience to convert that may be a traditional sport fan into this incredible product for those that are growing with it, as well as to create something new. You know, I think women's sports specifically, and the WNBA is a leader here, is a mix of sport and purpose and culture. So, yes, you're focused on selling out your games, creating the best fan experience, but you're also focused on building community and connection in a much deeper way. And how you're doing that and how you're building business around it is really important. And so go ahead, sorry, finish your thought. Yeah, and so I was. As we're building, you know, for us, we are relentless on making sure, of course, the traditional revenue lines, ticketing, partnership, merchandise, you know, everything to do with the game day and so forth are ones that are really strong. But we are also constantly thinking about what are other pathways to revenue expansion and fandom expansion.

[Tim Stanvac]

For years, women's sports executives have had to prove that there is enough demand. Do you think that that conversation has fundamentally changed?

[Jess Smith]

It has. And there's a lot of steps that got us here. You know, a lot of people right now are saying, you're a year old. It's incredible that you have this valuation. But for us, we were able to build this way because of the work that's been done year over year over year. You know, The WNBA is 30 years old, as we talked about, and visibility and game ratings and fandom is on the rise. You know, when you saw this incredible negotiation finalized for the CPA this last year, if you look back five years and forward five years, it's really hard to get this right, to look at the upward trajectory for everybody involved. And that's a great sign of what's to come.

[Carol Massar]

I'm thinking more about the. And while also thinking about the brand deals and sort of the stuff that comes with in addition to ticket sales. And I'm wondering about positioning players, how you're thinking about image, how you're thinking about recruiting these players who in some cases have huge followings already on Instagram and have become their own brands through social media. How do you think about that and how do you juggle all that?

[Jess Smith]

I mean, you're seeing a lot of these rookie classes flood in with incredible followership and influence. But by the way, that's with every sports league, right? These are folks that have been making content for a really long time already, that have had representation for a long time already and are coming with, with, you know, with that expertise coming into the league and that's matching these veteran players that have been building this league and producing and it's creating a really fun product. I think for a long time in women's sports, it was thought of that these athletes were just athletes. And what you're seeing now in a lot of the brand deals that you're seeing and storytelling that's taking place is showing these multidimensional women. Some are fashion designers, some are really dedicated to building in the youth sports space and providing that access for young girls who they are off the court allows that idolization and fandom to take a lot of different shapes. It's no longer in men's sports too, just these superstars that are the top three to five players in a league. It's an opportunity for every young boy and girl to look and find an athlete that they relate to in some way, shape or form.

[Tim Stanvac]

What has the organization done right, to scale the franchise so quickly and create the stardom and fandom that you are talking about?

[Jess Smith]

Most importantly, we've listened. You know, I think sometimes when you're building a business, you can have a vision and just start to execute it, but you really have to stop and think through. Are you being intentional? Are you building what the fans are asking you to build? Is this something that the players want to represent themselves and make sure that, you know, they're a part of that continued growth? Everything from our team name, we had put a survey out to say, what should we name the team? And over 25% of people wrote in the Valkyries it was on the table. But as we went through the other options, we kept coming back to it because we said the fans are asking us for this. You know, throughout this entire journey, we want to make sure that we are building this Team with our community and with our fans. And so far, that's been something that's landed well and, you know, really created a special environment.

[Carol Massar]

I mean, it worked really well. Last year. You had a really impressive inaugural season. The first expansion team to clinch a playoff spot in the first season. How do you replicate that this year? Or maybe a better question to ask would be like, how did you get to that level right off the bat?

[Jess Smith]

Yeah, I think there's two things for us. One, the Golden State culture. So one piece that we had an opportunity to come into is being a part of Golden State. This ownership group, this venue that we get to play in, it's premier. But people think of Golden State and they know this is an organization that wants to win. In fact, our owner came out when we launched the team even before I was hired and said, we're going to win a championship in the first five years, but they also want to do things the right way. And so we have that roadmap to make sure people really trust that. But the second piece is to invest, you know, making sure that we're investing in that fan experience and everything in between, that it is attracting the demand into the community that we've had a chance to build. And I think if you're talking to our GM and our head coach and myself, when we sat down at the end of this last season and we thought, what went well? What do we want to bring with us? What are things that we want to shift? The reality is we laid a great foundation, but it is a foundation. We have a lot more work to do to continue to grow this. But it's a yes and year for us. And so I think to talk about them for a minute, because they're both incredible leaders, they have, in year one, created a culture where we had the most returning players come back to our roster. In addition to that, they landed two incredible free agents and Gabby Williams and Kia Stokes to add to that for year two of a team. I think often you're not seeing people necessarily look to run to an expansion franchise, but a lot of credit goes to them in the connectivity and the trust that they've built with these players.

[Tim Stanvac]

The Valkyries, of course, had become the first women's sports team to reach a billion dollar valuation. What do you think that the broader sports industry is still missing when it comes to the business opportunity in women's sports?

[Jess Smith]

Just how quickly it's growing? You know, I think even with this billion dollar valuation, which is such a testament again to so many people doing great work. There's still the questions of, you know, okay, is this it? And the reality is this is just the beginning. It's the beginning of the beginning, as Peter Cooper likes to say. You know, when you think about the wnba, specifically this new cba, even when you fast forward to next year, there's an opportunity to play 15% more games per season.

[Carol Massar]

Just a collective bargaining agreement, correct?

[Jess Smith]

Yes. Yes. And so, you know, that alone is going to continue to create these opportunities for visibility. Fandom. You look at expansion, you know, we're adding two teams this year. We have Portland and Toronto playing and then three more teams. We have Detroit, Cleveland and and Philadelphia joining by 2030. That's 18 teams. But who's not to say there's not more on the horizon?

[Carol Massar]

Do you think there is?

[Jess Smith]

I mean, that's a great question for the commissioner. What I would say is that I hope so. You know, when we think of these markets and the opportunity to expand this league, expand the roster spots, expand this fandom, for instance, we're a great example. A ton of WNBA fans in Northern California. Then you get a team, then it's rabid fandom and fans within the Valkyrie system that's good for everybody.

[Carol Massar]

Jeff Smith, president of the Golden State Valkyries, joining us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio. Good luck later this week and thanks so much for stopping by.

[Jess Smith]

Appreciate it.

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