Women's Sports Leagues Battling for Talent

Summary

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Bloomberg Businessweek: "Women's Sports Leagues Battling for Talent"

Date: January 15, 2026
Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec
Guests: Vanessa Perdomo (Bloomberg Sports Reporter), Carolyn Tish Blodgett (Governor & Lead Owner of Gotham FC, CEO of Next3 Ventures)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the increasingly competitive landscape of women's sports leagues, focusing on talent retention, rising player salaries, and the influx of high-profile investors. The hosts, along with Gotham FC’s Carolyn Tish Blodgett and Bloomberg’s Vanessa Perdomo, explore how women’s leagues, especially in the U.S., are managing the new dynamics of global sports business—contending with European clubs for star athletes and capitalizing on the growing popularity and investment in women’s sports.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Evolution and Growth of Women’s Sports Investment

[03:29-04:14]

• Carolyn Tish Blodgett highlights rapid shifts, noting the previously negligible investment in women’s sports:

  "When we came in as new owners two years ago, they were not being talked about on Bloomberg. They were not. No one was investing in it... 99% of investments in sports went to men's teams. And so you're starting to see that shift."

• New ownership is helping drive this change, with an influx into NWSL, WNBA, and others.
• The competition from overseas leagues is framed as a positive.

  "I don't think our league would be as successful as we have been if there weren't other leagues that were competing for talent." (04:14)

Talent Retention Amid Global Competition

[04:21-06:05]

• Blodgett acknowledges concerns about U.S. stars moving to Europe, but also notes regular returns:

  "There has been news of players leaving for Europe... you'll also see players coming back." (04:22)
  "If we pull back and say this is actually... we're competing for global talent in a global game. This is kind of the natural evolution." (04:51)

• On retention strategy:
  • Focus on organizational strengths: coaching, investment in medical and mental health, and performance coaching.
  • Notable quote:

    "We've been very much at the forefront in terms of investing in medical... invested in mental health... If you're sitting here today as a player and you say, where can I get better? I would arguably say Gotham is the best place to go." (05:37)

The Power of Star Players

[06:05-08:00]

• The business value of star athletes is central to growth.

  "Stars drive viewership, and stars drive, particularly, a casual fandom." (06:45)

• Drawing from her Peloton marketing experience:

  "That was really our model, was help these instructors turn into stars. That is something we've brought to Gotham." (06:45)

• Gotham’s strategy blends inheriting big names (e.g., Rose Lavelle) and nurturing emerging stars (e.g., Jaylen Howell).
• The link between national team success and club fandom:

  "We have an opportunity at Gotham. Six of those [Olympic] players played for Gotham at the time. We can help bring those people and bridge that gap from US fandom to Gotham." (08:00)

Business Expansion and Long-Term League Growth

[08:00-09:23]

• Discusses the exponential rise in NWSL franchise valuations—Atlanta’s $165 million expansion fee up from $2 million in 2019.

  "You have owners like the Wilfs from the NFL, the Blanks now, and... owners from the NBA, from MLS, from European leagues... They believe in the NWSL product. Right." (09:05)

• Emphasizes that owners are committed to sustainable growth, not just quick profits.

  "The conversations at the board are about how are we going to grow sustainably, how are we going to reach the next level... It is not about like how can I make a quick dollar and turn around and sell it." (09:05)

The Bigger Picture: Investing in Youth and Emerging Sports

[10:06-10:32]

• Blodgett is actively considering investments beyond soccer—e.g., volleyball, SailGP, and youth sports leagues:

  "We're continuing to look at emerging leagues, look at emerging sports. I think we're very focused on youth sports... building up the kind of grassroots sports from the ground up." (10:18)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the rise of investment interest:

  "When we came in, 99% of investments in sports went to men's teams. And so you're starting to see that shift." — Carolyn Tish Blodgett [03:29]

• On global competition:

  "If we pull back and say this is actually... we're competing for global talent in a global game. This is kind of the natural evolution." — Blodgett [04:51]

• On building player appeal beyond salary:

  "We've been very much at the forefront in terms of investing in medical... mental health... performance coach... where can I get better?... Gotham is the best place to go." — Blodgett [05:37]

• On stars and fandom:

  "Stars drive viewership, and stars drive, particularly, a casual fandom." — Blodgett [06:45]

• On the importance of committed ownership:

  "This is a group of owners that want to be there and want to invest in its future." — Blodgett [09:05]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:29-03:29] – Introduction to guests and themes of talent battles in women's leagues
• [03:29-04:14] – Growth of women’s sports investment and new ownership
• [04:21-06:05] – Strategies to retain top players amid European competition
• [06:05-08:00] – The business importance of star athletes and fandom
• [08:00-09:23] – Franchise valuations and the new class of committed investors
• [10:06-10:32] – Looking toward emerging leagues and youth sports

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Tone and Language

The conversation is optimistic, fast-paced, and forward-looking, with Blodgett’s marketing background informing a business-savvy but passionate approach to women’s sports. Both hosts and guests frame challenges (like salary escalation and international transfers) as opportunities for growth and evolution.

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Conclusion

This episode underscores women's sports leagues entering a new era: attracting major investment, fiercely competing for talent on a global stage, and leveraging star power to grow their audience and business. Gotham FC’s Carolyn Tish Blodgett illustrates how innovative management, a focus on player wellness, and a marketing-driven approach are essential to staying competitive as women's sports continue their rapid ascendancy.

Transcript

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[Marsh Representative]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio.

[Bloomberg Host]

News. You're listening to Bloomberg businessweek with Carol Massar and Tim Stanvik on Bloomberg.

Radio. All right, we're already talking. We're already going because we're excited about this. I almost feel like we should just jump in. Let's do that. Bloomberg News Sports reporter Vanessa Perdomo is with us. She joins us along with Carolyn Tish Blodgett. She is governor and lead owner of Gotham FC Football Club, the National Women's Soccer League NWSL team, and she's founder and CEO of Next3 Ventures. It's an investment firm in sports media and entertainment. Well, welcome, welcome, welcome. I was going to start it off because, Vanessa, you and the sports crew, they put out a great story about, like, trends to watch in 2026. And one of it is kind of labor battles in women's sports and talking about it getting messy, especially as you see escalating salaries and you see more stars leaving for Europe. So I kind of, Carolyn, want to start that with you. I mean, are you concerned about kind of losing, losing players to European teams as we've seen salaries escalate and.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Welcome and happy diving right.

[Bloomberg Host]

In. That's how we.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Work. Let's dive right in. So I'm a firm believer that rising tides lifts all boats. We are. If you think about where women's sports was when we came in as new owners two years ago, they were not being talked about on Bloomberg. They were not. No one was investing in it. And when we came in, 99% of investments in sports went to men's teams. And so you're starting to see that shift. You know, we came in in 2023. There have been several new owners that have come into the National Women's Soccer league that we're in, as well as the WNBA and others. So you're starting to see a real shift. And with that comes challenges. And you start to see, you know, it wouldn't, I don't think our league would be as successful as we have been if there weren't other leagues that were competing for.

[Bloomberg Host]

Talent. So this is.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Good. So, yeah, I think competition is.

[Bloomberg Host]

Good. But are you afraid of losing some key.

[Chase Business Representative]

Players?

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Yes. I mean, obviously there are, there has been news of players leaving for Europe. I think you'll continue to see that. You'll also see players coming back. Lindsey Horan, Lindsey Heaps just signed with Denver. We've had players go play in Europe and then come back. So part of it, I think, you know, when you zoom in, I think it feels like, oh, my God, the sky is falling. Everybody's leaving for Europe. If we pull back and. And say this is actually the word, we're competing for global talent in a global game. This is kind of the natural evolution of.

[Bloomberg Host]

This. So let me ask the question in a different way, and it's about a strategy for making sure those players don't leave. It's a strategy for keeping those players on your team. How do you do it without breaking the.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Bank? So that is something we talk about on a daily basis. Our General manager Yael Aversh west has put together an incredible roster over the last year. So we've won two championships in the last three years. And when we think about why would a player want to come, a question we ask ourselves daily is, why would a player who could play anywhere want to come play for Gotham? And part of that, you know, I think what they have in Europe is obviously these brand legacies that it's hard to compete with. Chelsea's been around forever. If you want to go, if your dream has been to play for. For Chelsea, that's hard to compete with. What we have is, I think, some of the best coaching staff in the.

[Public.com Advertiser]

Business.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

We. We have. We've been very much at the forefront in terms of investing in medical. So we probably have arguably the best medical director in women's soccer, if not, you know, women's sports today. We've invested in mental health. We've invested in a performance coach. So we're kind of investing. And if you want. If you. If you're sitting here today as a player and you say, where can I get better? I would arguably say Gotham is the best place to go. And so we're really thinking about what is our competitive advantage and where can we compete, and let's go.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Invest. Well, I think the interesting thing is, obviously, Gotham had made this really big effort to sign these huge stars. The US Women's National Team. There was four or five stars. You have Jaden Shaw, who just came in last year with Midge Purse, Emily Sonnet, Rose Lavelle, the NWSL 2025 MVP, you know, for the championship game, you have these massive stars. And it was. It was felt like a concerted effort to do that, to make sure you have these big stars. And the lead used to rely solely on the U.S. women's National Team stars. Tell me about where that's gone. Why is it still important to the business to have stars like that? But how much it's grown over the last couple.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Years? So, yeah, I think it's a really good question. So I'm a big believer that stars drive viewership, and stars drive, particularly a casual fandom. I built my career in marketing. I used to run marketing at Peloton, and that was really our model was help these instructors turn into stars. That is something we've brought to Gotham, and we've taken not just the stars that we inherited, like, we brought in, like, a rose and a sonnet, but also helped someone like a Jaylen Howell kind of find her voice and become more of a.

[Bloomberg Host]

Star. Like Robin.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Arzon. I was the Robin.

[Chase Business Representative]

Arzon.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Yes. Yeah, Robin and I worked very close.

[Bloomberg Host]

Together.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Killer.

[Okta Advertiser]

Killer.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Right. But we helped her and she really knows how to build her own brand. So I don't want to get any credit of that, but we helped these instructors really turn into.

[Bloomberg Host]

House. But you guys appreciate it certainly as part of the Peloton.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Brand. Exactly. And that's what we're helping to do. I think for a lot of our stars at Gotham, I think that really again, that drives viewership. That brings a cat. The U.S. women's National Team is an opportunity to bring a casual fan in. If you think about how many people watched the Olympics last year and the US Team win a gold medal, I think it was like 9 million people. We have an opportunity at Gotham. Six of those players played for Gotham at the time. We can help bring those people and bridge that gap from US Fandom to Gotham.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Nuts. I mean, six people is like amazing to have that kind of power. I mean, let's talk a little bit more about like the. The overall business of the nw. So you have. You had mentioned it before. You have new owners coming in and one of them is a colleague from the NFL. Arthur Blank paid $165 million to bring it into a cell team to Atlanta. How big this business has got from 2019, from $2 million expansion fee to 165 million. What's the next step? How does that keep going and how do you make sure that it doesn't plateau after. After so such a big.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Year? Yeah, we. Right. There's been so much news in the end of yourself. We haven't even talked about the Blanks coming in. Yes. We're so happy that Arthur and his son Josh have joined us in the league. I think one of the real bright spots of the league, I think is the boardroom and is the compilation of owners in this room. You have owners like the Wilfs from the NFL, the Blanks now, and obviously our family. You have owners from the NBA, from mls, from European league. So you. You really have a. And means they believe in.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

It. They believe in the NWSL product. Right. These long term sports owners, you.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Very much feel that there is. The conversations at the board are about how are we going to grow sustainably, how are we going to reach the next level, as you asked. It is not about like how can I make a quick dollar and turn around and sell it. This is a group of owners that want to be there and want to invest in its future, building out.

[Bloomberg Host]

Their portfolio in a big Way and deeply.

[Chase Business Representative]

Care.

[Bloomberg Host]

Yeah. You talk about investing in the future. Before we got going, I talked about growing up watching the Giants seasons tickets my dad had and we all kind of went to games. They've had some highs and lows. They need a new head coach. Any update? And I'm just curious. Jason Harbaugh, like, is. Are you guys talking to him? John Harbaugh, sorry. Are you guys talking to.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Him? I definitely cannot be the one to break any news here. We did not time this interview with the coaching serve. So nothing to say but excited obviously for the Giants.

[Bloomberg Host]

Future. But there'll be a new coach.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Soon. Well, obviously there will be a coach naming who it is. Do you have one I can. No, hey, listen, I have nothing. I've just been in my office all.

[Bloomberg Host]

Day. It's John calling. No, no, no. Hey, just quickly. 20 seconds. You got. You have invested in volleyball, you invested in sale gp, which is something we've covered here. Anything else you're looking at for your portfolio? Just got about 20.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Seconds. Oh, yes, yes. Nothing to announce today, but we're continuing to look at emerging leagues, look at emerging sports. I think we're very focused on youth sports. And who are the leagues that are really building up the kind of grassroots sports from the ground.

[Bloomberg Host]

Up. Okay, will you come and tell us when you're gonna look.

[Carolyn Tish Blodgett]

Up? Run right.

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Over. Thank.

[Bloomberg Host]

You. Thank you, Vanessa. Also, Carolyn, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Carolyn Tish Blodgert, lead owner of Gotham Football Club. And of course, our Vanessa Perdomo. She's Bloomberg News sports reporter. Thank.

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[Bloomberg Host]

You. If you missed any of it, check it out on our.

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