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The 8 most valuable WNBA teams in 2026, led by the Valkyries at $1 billion

The most valuable WNBA teams in 2026 are led by the Golden State Valkyries at an estimated $1 billion, according to NBC Sports Bay Area and Forbes reports

The Golden State Valkyries had just finished their inaugural season when they became the first WNBA team to pass the $1 billion mark. That estimated valuation, based on reports from NBC Sports Bay Area and Forbes, puts a franchise with one season behind it at the top of the league.

Seven franchises follow the Valkyries, with estimated valuations running from $600 million for the New York Liberty down to $405 million for the Minnesota Lynx. The spread from first place to eighth is $595 million.

Several forces have pushed WNBA franchise values up. A new media rights package starts in 2026. It has raised baseline revenue across the league and drawn more institutional investment. Attendance has hit record levels. Star players, Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson among them, have driven commercial interest in the sport.

The average franchise valuation across the league is reported to have passed a range of $410 million to $460 million. Four of the eight teams on this list sit above the top of that range: the Valkyries, the Liberty, the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces. The Lynx, at $405 million, fall just below its low end.

Valuation and revenue do not always move in the same order. The Fever report $50 million in revenue, more than the Liberty's $43 million, yet the Liberty carry the higher estimated value. Revenue across the list ranges from $22 million for the Los Angeles Sparks to between $78 million and more than $90 million for the Valkyries.

The slides below run from the highest estimated valuation to the lowest. Each slide covers one franchise and lists its estimated value, its reported or recent revenue and its owners. The revenue figures are not tied to a specific fiscal year. Three teams have a single named owner. The other five are held by two or more people.

Golden State Valkyries: first WNBA team valued at $1 billion

The Golden State Valkyries rank first among WNBA franchises with an estimated valuation of $1 billion, according to reports from NBC Sports Bay Area and Forbes. No team in the league had reached that mark before them.

The milestone came just after the club's inaugural season. No other franchise in the ranking carries a 10-figure estimate.

The second-place New York Liberty sit at an estimated $600 million. That leaves a $400 million gap between first and second place.

That margin is close to the entire estimated value of the Minnesota Lynx, the eighth team on the list. No other gap between neighboring teams in the ranking comes near it.

Joe Lacob and Peter Guber are the team's lead owners.

The Valkyries' reported revenue runs from $78 million to more than $90 million. It is the only revenue figure in the ranking given as a range rather than a single number.

Even the low end of that range is $28 million above the Indiana Fever's $50 million. The Fever's total is the........

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