Surprise $850m WNBA team dominates revenue table with Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever left trailing

The Golden State Valkyries only began play in 2025, but they have already established themselves as the WNBA’s most valuable team.

Money has been a massive talking point in recent months, as the league prepares to tip off for it’s 30th season, with a record-breaking Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) now officially signed.

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Superstars like Caitlin Clark, reigning MVP A’ja Wilson and six-time All-Star Breanna Stewart will be back on the court next week, and all will have hopes of winning the WNBA Finals come October.

They play for the Indiana Fever, Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty respectively — the three favorites to win the championship in 2026.

But while each will have aspirations of on-court success, they are all being blown out of the water when it comes to making money.

WNBA valuations revealed ahead of upcoming season

For the second-straight year, the Valkyries boast the WNBA’s highest valuation, and are already light-years ahead of the rest of their league in terms of monetization.

Sportico lists Golden State with a whopping worth of $850 million, after they posted a WNBA-record $78m in revenue in their inaugural 2025 season.

That revenue was driven by sponsorship, and a season-ticket base that topped 10,000.

According to ESPN, the Valkyries cut off 2026 sales at more than 12,000, which proves their fan base is continuing to grow.

In 2025 the team was valued at $500 million — marking a tenfold increase on their then-record $50 million purchase price in 2023.

The owners of the NBA‘s Golden State Warriors, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, were the pair to bring the WNBA to San Francisco — and both know how to run a money-printing operation.

Last year, Forbes ranked the Warriors as the valuable NBA team, worth an estimated $11 billion.

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The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t far behind with a worth of $10 billion, and the $9.75 billion New York Knicks round out the top three.

In the WNBA, the picture is very different.

Valkyries dominate WNBA rivals with huge valuation

Golden State’s valuation has jumped by $350 million, and the team has now pulled away from the rest of the pack.

The Liberty ($600 million) have the second-highest valuation, while Clark’s Fever are in third, with a worth of $560 million.

The Seattle Storm ($425 million) and Phoenix Mercury ($420 million) complete the top five.

At the other end of the scale, the Atlanta Dream have the lowest valuation in the WNBA, and are said to be worth $280 million.

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Just above Atlanta is the $300 million Connecticut Sun, and the $310 million Washington Mystics.

All in all, the 13 WNBA franchises that played in 2025 are worth an impressive $5.55 billion combined.

The average worth of $427 million is up 59 percent over 2025, and reflects the women’s sports boom that has helped feed a record-breaking CBA for 2026.

By comparison, Sportico’s average values in the ‘big four’ US leagues are listed at $7.13 billion for the NFL, $5.51 billion for the NBA, $3.17 billion for MLB and ​$2.1​ billion for the NHL.

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