At least two bidders for the latest NWSL expansion franchise made their pitches to the league on Tuesday.
According to multiple people with direct knowledge of the discussions, bidding teams from Cincinnati and Denver presented their offerings to the league, its bankers and lawyers in New York.
It is unclear whether any other expansion bidders met with the league.
The meetings were held at the ArentFox Schiff law offices in Manhattan. ArentFox Schiff represents the league and served as legal counsel last September when Boston was awarded an expansion franchise and the Chicago Red Stars were sold to Laura Ricketts.
When asked about the meeting by Sportico, the league declined to comment. ArentFox Schiff did not reply to a request for comment.
In April, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN the league planned to select the 16th team by “the beginning of Q4” of this year, which would effectively mean October. That team would begin play in 2026 along with Boston, which was selected in 2023.
“It’s self-selecting people who understand what the expectations are for investment,” she said in the April interview with ESPN. “We wouldn’t want anyone to waste their time. … For where we are, the discussions feel more sophisticated and advanced, because I think we’re more of a proven entity.”
The NWSL currently has 14 active teams; Bay FC began play this season. The San Jose-based squad is majority owned by private equity firm Sixth Street, which paid a $53 million expansion fee. The Bay Area club has several former U.S. national team members in the ownership ranks—Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton and Leslie Osborne—as well as former NBA star Andre Iguodala and former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg.
The Boston franchise, also purchased for $53 million, is owned by Jennifer Epstein, founder of the female-led investment firm Juno Equity, and Stephanie Connaughton, a veteran of Bain and Proctor & Gamble. Both women have ties to the Celtics; Epstein is the daughter of co-owner Robert Epstein, and Connaughton is the wife of investor John Connaughton. This expansion team will enter the league in wake of the dissolution of the Boston Breakers, which played in the WUSA and NWSL from 2007 until 2016.
Investor interest in the NWSL continues to grow, as evidenced by the impending sale of Angel City FC and the earlier sale of the San Diego Wave. In July, it was revealed that Willow Bay, dean of USC’s journalism school, and her husband, Disney boss Bob Iger, were buying a control stake in Angel City that valued the club at a record $250 million.
In March, private equity billionaire Ron Burkle sold the Wave to the Levine Leichtman family in a two-part deal that will eventually value the team at $120 million. Burkle, the co-founder of the investment firm Yucaipa Companies, paid a $2 million expansion fee for the Wave in 2021.
The rising tide for team owners is lifting the players’ boat. Earlier this month, the NWSL and the players’ union quietly agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement to take effect after the current CBA expires following the 2026 season. The new CBA, which would extend labor peace into at least 2030, would include more player movement along with higher compensation.
With assistance from Eric Jackson.
(This story has been corrected in the headline and the second paragraph to remove Cleveland from the list of potential expansion groups with meetings in New York. While a Cleveland group is actively seeking an NWSL expansion team, Sportico cannot confirm that it definitely met with the league this week. The story has also been updated in the 10th paragraph to clarify the Angel City valuation in July’s stake sale.)
