Angel City FC is set to become the most valuable professional women’s sports team in history. 

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles-based NWSL team announced that Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School, and her husband, Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, have agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Angel City FC in a deal that values the club at $250 million. 

Angel City FC’s record-breaking sale is the latest in a recent string of landmark valuations among women’s sports teams in leagues from the NWSL to WNBA. They signal a turning point for women’s sports as investors increasingly back these teams not as a way to push for equality, but to make serious money.

The growth of Angel City FC

Angel City FC has grown exponentially since its founding in 2020 by actor Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and investor Alexis Ohanian. The club, which debuted in 2022, says it has become the highest revenue-generating women’s sports team in the world. Last season, Angel City FC had the second-highest home-game attendance in the NWSL, with an average of 19,756 fans per game.

Uhrman took to social media to welcome Bay and Iger to the club. “They will lead us into a new era of growth and further strengthen the club’s position as a leading organization in women’s sports,” she posted on X. “[They] want to change the game with us! It’s been a wild ride, we had no playbook.” 

Jessica Berman, commissioner of the NWSL said in a statement shared with Fast Company, that the transaction, which would make Bay and Iger controlling owners of the team, is still subject to the approval of the NWSL Board of Governors. But she called Bay and Iger “the clear next step in helping fulfill our mission—to be the most successful and impactful league both on and off the pitch.” She added: “Willow and Bob are extraordinary leaders—and are also passionate investors—who can help us push boundaries and continue to raise the bar. We look forward to welcoming them to the NWSL.”

NWSL controlling team owners are required to own at least 35% of a given team, which suggests that Bay and Iger have spent at least $87.5 million in the deal. The couple also plans to invest an additional $50 million to support the club. The deal comes just days after the Wall Street Journal reported on rumored infighting among the club’s owners.

Ohanian, founder of Reddit and a major women’s sports investor, was Angel City FC’s founding controlling owner. “I have stories for another day of professional investors back in 2019 who told me investing in an NWSL team would be a total failure,” Ohanian said on X. “Needless to say, we’re just getting started, and I couldn’t ask for better partners than Willow & Bob who will have the board control necessary to be true control owners. I’m excited to continue to serve on the board and support this team in the new chapter.” 

Ohanian also revealed that when launching the team, he and his wife, tennis star Serena Williams, invested $250,000 in the team via a separate trust for their children. The investment, he says “has now made our girls not just the youngest owners in pro sports—but also now multimillionaires. They’re proudly holding their shares.”

Record-breaking valuations and returns

Angel City FC’s record-breaking sale is the latest data point suggesting women’s sports teams are more valuable than ever. 

In 2022, entrepreneur Michele Kang purchased a controlling stake of the Washington Spirit NWSL team for what was, at the time, a record-breaking $35 million. The deal made Kang the first woman of color to own a NWSL team and was deemed “Deal of the Year” by Sports Business Journal. According to Sportico, the Washington Spirit is now worth closer to $54 million. 

Under Berman, who took the helm of the NWSL in 2022, the league has been setting attendance and viewership records, and hitting new valuations. In 2023, Berman sold expansion rights in Boston and the Bay Area for $53 million apiece, bringing the league to 14 teams. And so far this year, four NWSL teams have been purchased for eye-catching amounts. 

In January 2024, the Portland Thorns were sold to the Bhathal family for $63 million—a record sale at the time. Led by siblings Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal, cofounders of investment firm Revitate, the Thorns added new numerous minority investors, including Sam Garvin, coowner of the Phoenix Suns; Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear; and Kunal Merchant, a partner and COO of Revitate.

And in March 2024, two NWSL teams announced sales with sky-high valuations. First, the San Diego Wave’s principal owner, investor Ron Burkle, sold the club at a valuation of $120 million. (In 2021, Burkle paid just $2 million in expansion fees to launch the team.) And later that month, the Seattle men’s soccer team, Sounders FC, and New York-based global investment firm Carlyle Group, purchased the Seattle Reign for $58 million.

The growth of women’s sports

The Reign play at Lumen Field in Seattle—just 2.2 miles away from where the WNBA’s Seattle Storm plays. In 2008, the Storm was sold for $10 million; today the team is worth around $150 million and is among the WNBA’s most valuable teams. The Las Vegas Aces, valued at $140 million, brought in an estimated $17.8 million in revenue in 2023 and recently became the first WNBA team in history to  sell out every home game in a season. 

“The WNBA is a growth property,” Colie Edison, chief growth officer of the WNBA, told Fast Company in May. “We are growing at a clip that is record-breaking in every single metric that’s important: from viewership to attendance to merchandise to league valuation to team valuation.” 

Indeed, while women’s sports may have been a historically under-appreciated investment, recent team valuations suggest that this tide is starting to turn—and to provide significant returns. 

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