Seattle Storm becomes the most valuable team in the WNBA

It was a blockbuster year for the WNBA, with Caitlin Clark joining the league. It was an even bigger year for the Seattle Storm as the team became the most valuable franchise in the league.

Purchased for $10 million from the Clay Bennett group that moved the Sonics to Oklahoma City, the team now tops the association with an estimated value of $151 million despite being in a smaller market.

“We are in the middle of a sea change,” Seattle Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder told the Puget Sound Business Journal. “We got a valuation that really has started to change the landscape of valuations for women’s sports.”

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Gilder said that when she, Lisa Brummel and Dawn Trudeau bought the team, they knew they would make money. The team is now valued at 15 times what they paid for it.

There’s no doubt that the league benefits from the Catlin Clark halo effect, but the Storm saw a significant revenue boost before that even happened. In 2022, there was a significant uptick in ticket sales following the team’s move from Everett to the larger Climate Pledge Arena. There was a 94% revenue increase from 2021 to 2023.

In July, the WNBA entered an 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC, which was reportedly worth $200 million. It is expected to boost player salaries and revenues.

Storm legend Sue Bird, a four-time WNBA champion and five-time Olympic gold medalist, joined the team’s ownership group, Force 10 Hoops, on April 24.

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Force 10 opened the team’s $64 million training facility and headquarters in Interbay in April, just before the 2024 season began. The Storm is one of only two WNBA teams with its own practice facility.

Starbucks and Providence Swedish are founding partners of the facility.

“These partnerships are comprehensive,” President and CEO Alicia Valavanis told the Business Journal.

The contract amounts for each are generally in “the mid-six to low-seven figures,” she said.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.