Valkyries’ $100M sponsor pitch: mission meets capital
A two-year-old WNBA team became the first women’s sports team to hit $100 million in annual revenue. Here’s the sponsor pitch behind it.
In its second season, the Golden State Valkyries have become the first women’s sports team to reach $100 million in annual revenue. Sponsorship income alone climbed 30% year over year, according to team president Jess Smith. The pitch behind that number is not just that women’s sports is growing. It is that mission and capital can be sold as the same asset.
The pitch: purpose as a performance lever
Smith tells sponsors they can buy signage, radio, digital inventory and on-site activations almost anywhere. The Valkyries’ offer adds something harder to replicate: a community mission fans are emotionally attached to. In the early days, women’s sports was pitched as small, with fewer games and lower media value. Since 2020, Smith says, the consumer unlock changed that—viewership, ratings and merchandise all started climbing.
“Mission and capital can coexist,” Smith said. The argument is commercial, not charitable: brands that visibly support something fans care about are rewarded with loyalty and spending.
What sponsors now demand
The sponsorship conversation has shifted from exposure to evidence. Clients want attendance data, social reach, storytelling capability and consistent media value measurement. Bigger brands run their own studies and compare women’s sports against the rest of their portfolio.
The Valkyries respond with a shared partnership insights team alongside the Golden State Warriors—eight people who serve the overall business—and a partnership with agency The Team, formerly Wasserman, to measure community work such as court renovations and youth access. If agreed KPIs slip, Smith argues for real-time correction rather than waiting for renewal.
Three tactics to borrow
- Bundle purpose with proof. Treat community impact as a measurable commercial asset, not a CSR footnote.
- Split exclusivity into smaller categories. Finance alone can be six categories, opening space for non-traditional sponsors like Sephora and AI storage company Iren.
- Sell the appreciation curve. Next season adds six games—a 15% jump in inventory—so long-term sponsors gain more exposure without renegotiation.
For brand managers, the Valkyries show how positioning can turn a young property into a premium sponsorship. The product is not women’s basketball alone; it is measurable growth plus fan goodwill, wrapped into one deal.
Source: Digiday
