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Bay FC founder Leslie Osborne said her NWSL expansion team learned a lot from Angel City FC’s rocky takeoff.
The former U.S. Women’s National Team player told Front Office Sports during a recent episode of Portfolio Players that Bay FC saw “pros and cons” to Angel City’s “massive cap table” and bevy of celebrity owners.
“We don’t want 90 people on our cap table,” Osborne said. “Yes, we do have some celebrity names involved, like Sabrina Ionescu, obviously an amazing, huge, kick-ass female athlete, but we don’t have 10 celebrities on our team.”
Osborne touted Angel City’s community outreach and seven-figure front of kit partnership with DoorDash, an “unheard of” investment at the time. She called the club “an ally” as Bay FC got started.
Angel City launched in 2020 from Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and entrepreneur Julie Uhrman. Ohanian said on an episode of Portfolio Players last year that he “structured it like a start-up”—by investing $5 million without expecting board control and giving away about 75% of the team’s equity “for free”—which he said is “a terrible idea” in sports.
The convoluted ownership structure led to infighting, and Ohanian sold his controlling stake to Bob Iger and Willow Bay at a record-breaking $250 million valuation in 2024. Ohanian and the other cofounders are still on Angel City’s board of directors.
Angel City has far more celebrity investors than other NWSL clubs. The group includes singers Christina Aguilera and Becky G, former late night host James Corden, actresses Jennifer Garner, America Ferrera, Jessica Chastain, Gabrielle Union, and Eva Longoria, and sports icons Billie Jean King, Lindsey Vonn, Abby Wambach, and Candace Parker.
Ohanian said having a large ownership group full of big celebrity names “certainly was helpful” early on with marketing, including with the DoorDash deal.
Osborne’s Bay FC is owned by the private equity firm Sixth Street, and was founded by four retired USWNT players: Osbrone, Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner. The team will kick off its third NWSL season next weekend.
“We learned a lot from them,” Osborne said of Angel City. “They’ve gone through some structural changes and obviously, their valuation skyrocketed and you can see why. But I think that it’s an opportunity where we’re all trying to raise that bar and continue to raise that standard and learn from each other.”
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