NWSL
NWSL Ownership Timeline
2013
NWSL Inaugural season; November 21, 2012 NWSL was founded
Chicago Red Stars
Majority Owner: Arnim Whisler
Sky Blue FC
Majority Owner: Phil and Tammy Murphy, Steven Temares
Portland Thorns
Majority Owner: Peregrine Sports & Merritt Paulson (Portland Timbers)
Seattle Reign
Majority Owner: Bill and Teresa Predmore
Washington Spirit
Majority Owner: Bill Lynch
Boston Breakers
Majority Owner: Boston Women’s Soccer, LLC
FC Kansas City
Majority Owner: Chris Likens, Brad Likens, Greg Likens, Brian Budzinski
Western New York Flash
Majority Owner: Joe Sahlen
2014
Houston Dash
Status: Joins the league
Majority Owner: Ted Segal
Expansion Fee: Not disclosed
2016
Orlando Pride
Status: Joins the league
Majority Owner: Flávio Augusto da Silva
Expansion Fee: Not disclosed
2017
Western New York Flash → North Carolina Courage
Status: Franchise rights sold; North Carolina Courage joins the league
Majority Owner: Steve Malik
Sale Price: Not disclosed
FC Kansas City
Status: Ownership changed in January 2017
New Owner: Elam Baer
Sale Price: Not disclosed
FC Kansas City
Status: League re-acquires FC Kansas City NWSL membership November 2017, cease team operations
2018
Boston Breakers
Status: Officially folded January 25th, 2018
Utah Royals FC
Status: Joins the league
Majority Owner: Dell Loy Hansen
Expansion Fee: Not disclosed
Note: All FC Kansas City player contracts, draft picks, and player-related rights transferred to Utah
Washington Spirit
Status: Majority owner change
Majority Owner: Steve Baldwin (controlling interest), Lynch retained stake
Sale: Not disclosed
2019
Seattle Reign → OL Reign
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: OL Groupe
Sale: 89.5% stake for $3.125mil
2020
Utah Royals FC
Status: Disbands, NWSL gives ownership an option to rejoin the league for a low expansion cost
2021
Sky Blue FC → NJ/NY Gotham FC
Status: Rebranding
Racing Louisville
Status: Joins the league
Majority Owner: Soccer Holdings LLC, John Neace
Expansion Fee: $1-2 million
Kansas City Current
Status: Joins the league, absorbs players from Utah
Majority Owner: Angie and Chris Long
Expansion Fee: $5 million
Orlando Pride
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: Zygi and Mark Wilf
Sale: Combined Orlando City SC and Orlando Pride ~$400-450 million (reported)
2022
Washington Spirit
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: Michele Kang
Sale: $35 million
Angel City FC
Status: Joins the league
Owner: Alexis Ohanian, Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman, and Julie Uhrman
Expansion Fee: $2 million
San Diego Wave
Status: Joins the league
Owner: Ron Burkle
Expansion Fee: $2 million
2023
Chicago Red Stars
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: Laura Ricketts
Sale: $60 million ($35.5mil toward sale, $25.5mil toward investment)
2024
Bay FC
Status: Joins the league
Owner: Sixth Street Partners
Expansion Fee: $53 million
Utah Royals
Status: Re-join the league
Owner: David Blitzer and Ryan Smith
Expansion Fee: $2-5 million (reported)
Portland Thorns
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: RAJ Sports (Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal)
Sale: $63 million
Seattle Reign
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: Carlyle Group + Seattle Sounders
Sale: $58 million
San Diego Wave
Status: Ownership change
New Owner: Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine
Sale: $113 million (weighted average, $35 mil for 35% stake 3/24, $78 mil for 65% after 2024 season), second portion at $120 million
Angel City FC
Status: Ownership change
New Majority Owner: Willow Bay and Bob Iger
Team Valuation: $250 million
2026
NWSL Boston
Status: Joins the league
Owner: Boston Unity Soccer Partners - Ami Kuan Danoff, Stephanie Connaughton, Jennifer Epstein, and Anna Palmer
Expansion Fee: $53 million
TBD team
Status: Joins the league
