How to build a billion-dollar sports team from scratch, with Golden State Valkyries’ Jess Smith

The Golden State Valkyries were the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008, and Jess Smith described building the franchise as more than opening a club in a major market: it required a distinct identity and an elite product for an underserved audience. Jeff Berman characterized the Valkyries as America’s fastest-growing sports franchise, with its value rising from a $50 million expansion fee to $1 billion in about two and a half years. Smith brought 15 years of experience across sports leagues including MLB, the NHL and MLS, as well as work with challenger brands.

The Valkyries launched their brand in 2024, a year before playing their first game, and merchandise sold in all 50 states and 70 countries within 60 days. Smith said the team chose Valkyries violet because it was distinctive and powerful, could work as lifestyle merchandise and could become closely associated with the club. As the organization’s first employee, she had about a year and a half to prepare for tipoff. Golden State’s reputation and facilities helped, including support for an early practice-facility renovation and a locker room inside Chase Center.

Before going to market, the team established its identity, launch story and offer for partners. Nine founding partners, including Sephora, JPMorgan Chase, Kaiser Permanente and Rakuten, sit on the Valkyries’ impact council and invest in community programs. Smith said partnerships should deepen connections with fans and create shared learning and impact, rather than focus only on attendance or media metrics. She sees capital, people and media visibility as essential to women’s sports growth: investment lets teams hire and build their products, while visibility helps bring those products to consumers.

Smith cautioned that leagues take time to mature, pointing to the WNBA’s 31 years of growth and setbacks. She said pandemic-era changes in fandom helped increase attention, viewership, merchandise sales and visibility. For the Valkyries, she identified audience growth and revenue as priorities she could influence, alongside winning. In hindsight, she would have hired into revenue earlier and more aggressively in the team’s first year, rather than waiting for revenue before adding staff. She also argued that WNBA clubs can cooperate to grow the league without reducing competition on the court.

The Valkyries have sold out every game in their history, with more than 18,000 fans attending each game at Chase Center, but Smith said live attendance is only a small share of a sports brand’s potential audience. The team created a network of 40 Northern California bars committed to showing every game. Ticket pricing, she said, should reflect the quality of the product while preserving community access: a $15 ticket may be available when bought early, but not necessarily at the last minute for a major matchup. The team also reserves and donates tickets for every game.

The inaugural roster came together through an expansion draft, free agency and signings that included international players. After two new expansion teams led to the Valkyries losing two players, the team added free agents including Gabby Williams and Kia Stokes. Smith sees the media deal and 15% increase in WNBA games as a major opportunity over the next two to three years to deepen fandom and grow revenue; for the Valkyries, the added schedule means three more ticketed games, three more road games and six more games with viewership.

Smith said the Valkyries’ success could show what is possible and encourage further investment in women’s sports, while expecting league visibility to grow through the media deal and exposure to casual viewers. She cited Portland and Toronto and anticipated possible future expansion to Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit. She also pointed to barriers that can push girls out of sports around puberty, including access to sports bras, period products and supportive, safe coaches; partnerships have included Nike donating sports bras to girls in need at Angel City and the Valkyries working with Cora on feminine products. On sports gambling, she cautioned against rushing and said any formal introduction should be responsible and protect the fairness of the game.