Everyone Wants In on the WNBA Expansion Gold Rush

The WNBA aims to add another expansion team by the 2028 season—and there is no shortage of eager potential owners. 

The league is already preparing to welcome three expansion franchises over the next two years, but WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said the league is evaluating up to “12 cities.”

Major sports figures are beginning to show their interest in joining ownership groups that will bid on the WNBA’s next team. Here is the list of cities and owners that have been reported:

• Kansas City (Patrick and Brittany Mahomes): The NFL quarterback and his wife are part of the ownership group of the NWSL’s KC Current—which has met with the WNBA, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. On Thursday, Patrick Mahomes called the decision to invest in a WNBA team a “no-brainer” given the league’s success over the past few seasons. Patrick Mahomes is also in the ownership group of MLB’s Royals and MLS club Sporting KC.

• St. Louis (Jayson Tatum): On the other side of the state, the Celtics star forward has agreed to join a group looking to bring a team to his home city, according to Sportico. The 2023 NBA collective bargaining agreement included a rule allowing players the ability to own up to 4% of a WNBA franchise. Tatum, who could become the NBA’s first player to make $1 billion in career earnings, starts the first year of a five-year, $315 million deal next season.

• Milwaukee (Bucks ownership): The NBA owners have placed a bid for a WNBA franchise, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. It’s unclear which of the several majority owners of the Bucks—which includes Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam—have a hand in the bid, but longtime owner Wes Edens does not, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

• Jacksonville (Donna Orender): The WNBA’s president from 2005 to 2010 told Sports Business Journal in September that she has joined an ownership group aiming to bring a team back to Florida.

• Orlando (Magic front office): SBJ also reported in September the NBA franchise is “studying” the WNBA’s business model. The city had the Orlando Miracle for just four seasons before they were relocated to Connecticut.

• Denver (Robert Cohen, Navin Dimond, and Ashley Dimond): Engelbert visited Denver last August to assess the city as an expansion possibility. In 2023, The Denver Post reported the interested group included Cohen, chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group; and the Dimond family, who runs Stonebridge Companies, a hospital and hotel firm.

Other cities, like Miami and Nashville, have also been reported as potential expansion targets. SBJ reported there are “multiple” groups in South Florida exploring the situation.

Kevin Durant is also reportedly interested in a bid for a WNBA expansion team in Austin. Durant has Lone Star State ties: He played for two years at the University of Texas.