WNBA Expansion Decisions Show League Prioritizes North, NBA Ties

Three new ownership groups are flooding the WNBA with cash. 

Existing NBA owners in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia are each paying $250 million expansion fees to join the league over the next five years. By 2018 the league will have at least 18 teams.

Nashville, Houston, Denver and Miami were among the cities that bid for expansion teams and lost out in this round. 

“While we believe our proposed ownership group put a great foot forward for Nashville and the state of Tennessee with the concept of the Summitt, we understand and accept the WNBA’s decision today in awarding franchises to NBA ownership groups,” former Tennessee governor Bill Haslam said in a statement. 

Haslam’s statement highlights the fact that the WNBA has, thus far, awarded all six expansion teams to ownership groups with NBA ties.

The move also raises questions about the league’s notoriously murky ownership structure. 

The 30 NBA team owners control 42% of the WNBA, another 42% is controlled by the WNBA owners and the remaining 16% is owned by an investment group through a $75 million capital raise in 2022. The investors included Nike, Michael Dell, Boston Globe CEO Linda Henry, Dee Haslam, Condoleezza Rice, Micky Arison and Laurene Powell Jobs and others like Ted Leonsis, Herb Simon and Joe Tsai. 

Leonsis (Mystics and Wizards), Simon (Fever and Pacers) and Tsai (Liberty and Nets) now have three separate investments in the WNBA because they are NBA owners, WNBA owners and part of the capital raise. 

Expansion does not dilute the NBA owners’ 42% or the 16% controlled by the 2022 investment consortium. Instead, the 42% controlled by WNBA owners will be split between 18 owners by 2030. 

Engelbert declined to comment on the financial structure of the league, but a source with knowledge of the expansion deals said there are provisions that limit the ability of new teams from sharing in the expansion fees.  

The Golden State Valkyries have shared ownership with the Golden State Warriors. The Toronto Tempo and Portland WNBA team—set to join the league in 2026—have owners with minority stakes in NBA franchises. Tempo principal owner Larry Tanenbaum is the governor of the Raptors and chairman of Maple League Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Raptors. Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal own the Portland team through their investment firm RAJ Sports, which has a stake in the Sacramento Kings. 

Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia—similar to the Valkyries—will all be owned and operated by each city’s NBA ownership group.

Beyond the pro basketball infrastructure, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert touted as a significant reason for each city’s bid being granted is the women’s basketball history they are home to. WNBA teams briefly thrived in Cleveland and Detroit before folding or moving, and the new ownership groups said they would consider their old names, the Rockers and Shock. 

Philadelphia never had a WNBA team but was briefly home to the Rage in 1997, one of the now- defunct American Basketball League’s original eight franchises. 

The WNBA’s expansion plans drew criticism from Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. 

“You want to listen to your players,” Cunningham told media ahead of the Fever’s 74-59 win over the Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup championship Tuesday. “Where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? Miami would have been a great one. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity… I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or Cincinnati.” 

Cunningham incorrectly named Cincinnati when referencing the league’s decision to expand to Cleveland. 

In response to Cunningham’s comments, a flood of prominent voices with ties to Detroit and Cleveland defended their cities, including new owner Dan Gilbert and Cavs players Donovan Mitchell and Tristan Thompson. 

“Come on Sophie, obviously you haven’t been to Detroit or Cleveland,” Cavs owner Gilbert—a Detroit native with ownership of a substantial amount of real estate in the city through his company Bedrock Detroit—wrote on X. “You should support your Midwest sisters in this league and these two great cities that you’re going to come to know and love very shortly.” 

While fans and locals of both cities were understandably disgruntled with Cunningham’s assessment, she did raise several points about WNBA expansion worth scrutinizing. 

Cunningham suggested players’ have a desire to be included in the league’s business decisions. The WNBPA has previously stated it wants to be included in media rights negotiations. In a statement shared with Front Office Sports, the union said, “Today’s expansion news reinforces what players, fans, and countless metrics have already proven: the WNBA is thriving and a great investment. As the league grows, it’s essential we secure a CBA that ensures players fully share in the success they drive.”

Geographically, the WNBA has shown heavy preference for the northeast U.S. By 2030, the WNBA will have 10 teams east of Kansas—11 when including the Tempo in Canada—one team in Texas and just six in the west. The Atlanta Dream are the league’s only team in the southeast. There is also the question of how rapid expansion will impact the talent pool and even coaching personnel.  

The WNBA implemented a rule change in 2020 allowing teams to add a third assistant coach under the condition they are a former player in the league. This was an effort to expand the coaching pool and encourage retired WNBA players to pursue careers in the league. When asked about the WNBA’s plans for coaching development, Engelbert referenced the 2020 rule and said the league is working on a coaching database with coaches at the collegiate, G-League and NBA levels.