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Fresh off winning the first championship in franchise history, the New York Liberty have asserted themselves as a prominent franchise in the WNBA. As they look to defend their title in 2025, the organization made history off the court.
On Thursday morning, reports emerged regarding the latest valuation of the Liberty. They are now valued at around $450 million, a record in women's sports.
This number stretches far beyond women's basketball, as other prominent clubs aren't on par with the New York Liberty's latest numbers. It even surpasses a recent investment made by Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian. He recently became a minority owner of Chelsea FC women, and they were only valued at $326 million.
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"The Liberty’s valuation is believed to be a record across professional women’s sports and is more than double that of the last publicly known capital raise made by a WNBA franchise. Last summer, the Dallas Wings sold two half-percent stakes in the franchise at a $208 million valuation. Earlier this month, entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian paid $26.5 million for an 8 percent stake in Chelsea Women, which values the team at $326 million."
When it comes to their record-breaking value, the Liberty have a lot of things going for them. For starters, they're in one of the biggest sports markets in the world. On top of that, they have a pair of the most notable names in the WNBA in Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu.
Impressive numbers like this are proof of the consistent growth the WNBA has seen in recent years.
New York Liberty owner expects franchise to only increase in value moving forward
Hitting this record-setting value is just the beginning for the New York Liberty according to one key member of the organization. With the WNBA getting ready to start a new TV deal, owner Clara Wu Tsai believes they have a chance to be worth over a billion dollars in the future.
"Wu Tsai recently told Bloomberg that by the mid-2030s, she thinks the Liberty can be the 'first billion-dollar women’s sports franchise.' Beginning next season, the WNBA will benefit from a new 11-year, $76 billion NBA/WNBA TV deal."
With the way the league is trending, Wu Tsai's prediction very well could become reality later down the line. It will also help them that they plan on making key additions amid their latest influx of capital. Reports suggested that the money was raised for the New York Liberty to build a new state-of-the-art practice facility.
