National Women's Soccer League owners

National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) owners own a share in the National Women's Soccer League and have the right to operate a team. Players' rights to play in the league are controlled by a team.[1] Each NWSL team has an investor-operator that is a shareholder in the league. The league has a profit-sharing arrangement amongst the teams.[2]

As of April 2023, the league has 14 investor-operator individuals or groups for its 12 current and two future clubs.

Current NWSL teams

Angel City FC

Angel City FC was founded in 2020 with investors Kara Nortman, Alexis Ohanian, Natalie Portman, and Julie Uhrman.[3]

Other investors include:[4][3]

Chicago Red Stars
Main article: Chicago Red Stars § Ownership

Arnim Whisler, Dean Egerter, and Steve Ritchie are considered founding members of the Chicago Red Stars.[6] Whisler has been an owner of the Chicago Red Stars since 2012,[7] while Egerter and Ritchie have been owners since 2021.[6]

Other investors include:[6]

Houston Dash
Main article: Houston Dash § Ownership and team management

The majority owner of the Houston Dash is Ted Segal.[8]

Other investors include Gabriel Brener, Oscar De La Hoya, Jake Silverstein, and Ben Guill.[9]

James Harden joined the ownership group in 2019.[10]

Kansas City Current

Lead investors of the Kansas City Current are Angie and Chris Long. Other minority investors include Jen Gulvik and Brittany Matthews (2020–present; started play in 2021)[11]

NJ/NY Gotham FC

The founding investor of NJ/NY Gotham FC is Thomas Hofstetter[12] Since 2012, majority owners have included Tammy Murphy, Phil Murphy, Steven Temares.[13] In 2020, Ed Nalbandian joined as a minority owner.[14] In 2022, Kristin Bernert, Karen Bryant, Carli Lloyd, Kevin Durant, and Rich Kleiman joined as minority owners.[15][16][17]

North Carolina Courage

Since 2017, Stephen Malik is the owner and chairman of the North Carolina Courage.[18] Naomi Osaka bought a minority interest in 2021.[19]

OL Reign

Orlando Pride
  • 2015–2018: Flávio Augusto da Silva (majority) and Phil Rawlins (minority)
  • 2018–2021: Flávio Augusto da Silva (majority), Phil Rawlins (minority), Albert Friedberg (minority)[20]
  • Since 2021: The Wilf Family (Mark Wilf, Zygi Wilf, Lenny Wilf) [21]

Portland Thorns FC

Racing Louisville FC

San Diego Wave FC

Washington Spirit
  • Michele Kang (majority owner, 2022–present)[25][26]
  • Bill Lynch (2012–2018)[27]
  • Steve Baldwin (majority) and Bill Lynch (minority) (2018–2020)[28]
  • Steve Baldwin (managing), Michele Kang, and Bill Lynch (minority) (2020–2022),[29] with other minority investors joining in 2021, including Jenna Bush Hager, Chelsea Clinton, Brianna Scurry, and Dominique Dawes.[30]
  • Alex Ovechkin was reported as verbally agreeing to join this ownership group,[31] but Sportico reported that as of late September 2021 he had failed to complete the paperwork or pay to acquire the stake, and that by June 2022 after the team's sale to Kang, it was still unclear if he had ever or still owned a stake in the team.[32]

Future NWSL teams

Bay Area (2024)

Utah Royals FC (2024)

Former NWSL teams

Boston Breakers (2012–2018)
  • Michael Stoller, Boston Women's Soccer, LLC (2012–2018)[35]

FC Kansas City (2012–2017)
  • Chris Likens, Brad Likens, Greg Likens, and Brian Budzinski (Missouri Comets owners) (2012–2017)[36]
  • Elam Baer (2017)[37]

Utah Royals FC (2017–2020)

Western New York Flash (2013–2017)

See also

References
  1. "Roster Rules". National Women's Soccer Legue. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  2. Murray, Caitlin (October 13, 2017). "A Blueprint for Women's Sports Success. But Can It Be Copied?". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. "Angel City Confirms Name as Angel City Football Club and Officially Joins National Women's Soccer League" (Press release). National Women’s Soccer League. October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  4. "Natalie Portman part of L.A. ownership group for NWSL expansion team in 2022". Los Angeles Times. July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  5. "Matthew Stafford joins NWSL's long list of athlete investors". Just Women's Sports. March 24, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  6. "Chicago Red Stars Introduce Groundbreaking New Ownership Group". March 2021.
  7. Herrera, Sandra (2018-03-09). "Independently Chicago: One-On-One With Red Stars Owner Arnim Whisler". Hot Time In Old Town. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  8. "New owner brings energy to the Club". houstondynamo.com. 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  9. "MLS: Brener is new Dynamo majority owner". ESPN.com. 2015-12-16. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  10. "Rockets' James Harden joins ownership of Dynamo and Dash". Houston Chronicle. July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  11. "Kansas City Returns to the NWSL as Expansion Team in 2021" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. Kassouf, Jeff. "Sky Blue FC gears up for NWSL – Equalizer Soccer". Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  13. "Ownership". www.gothamfc.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  14. "Sky Blue FC: Ed Nalbandian new minority owner, Tammy Murphy named chairwoman". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  15. "NJ/NY Gotham FC Adds Two Top-Level Sport Executives to Ownership". NJ/NY Gotham FC. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  16. "Carli Lloyd Rejoins NJ/NY Gotham FC in New Role as Minority Owner". NJ/NY Gotham FC. 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  17. LoRé, Michael. "Kevin Durant, Rich Kleiman Join Gotham FC As Minority Owners". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  18. "New for 2017: North Carolina Courage". Soccer Stadium Digest. 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  19. "Naomi Osaka invests in NWSL's North Carolina Courage, becoming team owner". ESPN.com. Reuters. January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  20. "Orlando City owner sells minority stake". ESPN.com. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  21. "Wilf Family Completes Purchase of Orlando City Soccer Club and Orlando Pride". orlandocitysc.com. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  22. "What they're saying about Portland Thorns FC crest and team name (links)". oregonlive.com. 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  23. Badenhausen, Kurt (September 28, 2022). "LAFC Tops MLS' Most Valuable Teams at $900 Million". Sportico. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  24. Clarke, Ryan (September 28, 2022). "Merritt Paulson sold minority stake in Portland Timbers, Thorns last year". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  25. Small, Jordan (February 8, 2022). "Washington Spirit Finalize New Ownership » Washington Spirit". Washington Spirit (Press release). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  26. Caron, Emily (February 8, 2022). "Washington Spirit Sell for Record $35 Million to Michele Kang". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  27. Goff, Stephen (December 27, 2018). "NWSL's Washington Spirit hires Richie Burke as head coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  28. "Washington Spirit Owner May Sell Majority Stake In NWSL Club". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. October 10, 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  29. Anderson, Jason (December 29, 2020). "Y. Michele Kang joins Washington Spirit ownership group". Black and Red United. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  30. Linehan, Meg; Maurer, Pablo (February 16, 2021). "Chelsea Clinton, Jenna Bush Hager among group buying stake in Washington Spirit". The Athletic. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  31. Kaplan, Emily (May 9, 2021). "Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin becoming investor in NWSL's Washington Spirit". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  32. Caron, Emily; Novy-Williams, Eben (June 30, 2022). "Alex Ovechkin's Touted NWSL D.C. Buy In, Payout Never Came to Be". Sportico. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  33. Caron, Emily; Novy-Williams, Eben (April 4, 2023). "Sheryl Sandberg Joins Ownership of NWSL's Bay Area Expansion Team". Sportico. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  34. Rasmussen, Karl (March 11, 2023). "NWSL Announces Utah Royals to Return As Expansion Team in 2024". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  35. "Last-gasp bid to save Boston Breakers soccer team fell short - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  36. "FC Kansas City announces new ownership". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  37. "FC KANSAS CITY UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP". SoccerToday. 2017-01-21. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  38. McDonald, Ryan (2018-09-12). "'Jump on this train, because it's going somewhere': Utah Royals FC ends 1st season with eye toward future". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  39. "WNY Flash moving to North Carolina, report says". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
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