The WNBA Just Keeps Growing 🏀
Some suggest the winning bid could be $200 million or more.
The latest trend in big sports business is clear: Highly paid athletes want a piece of team ownership too. We don’t mean ownership like Aaron Rodgers beating the Chicago Bears annually either.
These super successful athletes want a stake in teams, and we have seen this with retired quarterback Tom Brady now owning a stake in the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. Top NFL earner Patrick Mahomes also just made WNBA news by sharing his interest in bringing a WNBA expansion team to Kansas City.
You can add Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum to the growing list of athletes looking to invest in teams. The WNBA rumors are abuzz over which city earns the league’s 16th franchise as it looks to grow after a record-setting 2024 season thanks to phenom Caitlin Clark’s arrival.
The WNBA will already add a 13th team in 2025 in the Golden State Valkyries, and then in 2026, there will be new teams in Portland and Toronto. The bid for the 16th franchise is expected to be competitive with more interest than ever in WNBA games.
Tatum is reportedly in talks to invest in a bid led by billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman to bring a WNBA team to St. Louis, Missouri. If you were expecting Boston, then you’ve missed an important part of Tatum’s story.
Exclusive: Jayson Tatum is part of a high-powered group aiming to bring the WNBA to St. Louis.
Tatum (an STL native) could become the 1st active NBA player to own part of a W team, which is newly allowed in the league’s CBA.
But competition for Franchise 16 is already fierce. pic.twitter.com/8woydSR0jJ
— ✏️Jacob Feldman (@JacobFeldman4) October 31, 2024
Tatum Is From St. Louis
Jayson Tatum was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He went to Chaminade College Preparatory School there before his arrival at basketball powerhouse Duke. Growing up in a single-parent household, Tatum’s roots and the people of St. Louis are very important to him.
In February 2024, Tatum partnered with SoFi to help people buy homes in St. Louis where he has tried to boost home ownership and financial literacy.
Bringing a basketball team to the St. Louis area, which lost the Rams to Los Angeles in 2016, would be very important to him. If you’re wondering if he can legally own a piece of a WNBA team as an active NBA player, the answer is yes. Thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement, NBA players can own up to 4% of WNBA teams.
How it started ➡️ How it’s going.
Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk reunited with childhood classmate Jacob B. to recreate their famous bus photo at the ballpark today!#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/Y0ty2mIdf0
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 18, 2024
Tatum Will Face Stiff Competition for 16th WNBA Team
While Tatum’s Celtics are favored to repeat as NBA champions this season, he might have a tougher road to winning this bid as the competition will be fierce for this 16th WNBA franchise. Some suggest the winning bid could be $200 million or more.
Jayson Tatum at age 26:
— 5x All-Star
— 4x All-NBA
— 1st in playoff PTS before turning 27
— 1st in playoff wins since being drafted
— 1st in playoff PTS since being draftedAnd now, NBA Champion. pic.twitter.com/uy8ojovr3E
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 18, 2024
Some of the cities expected to fight for the bid include Denver, Philadelphia, Miami, and Kansas City. We know the Mahomes family is interested in bringing a WNBA team to Kansas City, and while that is located in Missouri just like St. Louis, they are different cities.
So, don’t expect Mahomes and Tatum to be in the same bidding group unless a compromise is reached on bringing women’s basketball to the state of Missouri one way or the other.
The Jayson Tatum stats for 2024 are absurd, including an NBA championship, an Olympic gold medal, and a record $314 million extension with the Celtics. We know he’s not going anywhere as a player for years, but we’ll see if he succeeds in bringing a WNBA team home to St. Louis.
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