The Golden State Valkyries and JPMorgan Chase have signed a multi-year sponsorship that will make the banking giant’s Chase Freedom brand the first founding partner of the WNBA expansion team, which starts play in 2025. Chase Freedom’s logo will be on the club’s home and away jerseys.
“We are building the Valkyries with the intention of creating legacy on and off the court,” Jess Smith, the Valkyries president, said in a statement. “JPMorgan Chase has had alignment with us every step of the way in building a powerful, state-of-the-art franchise that inspires fandom, drives impact, and will compete for championships.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The team calls Chase their jersey “shield” partner in a nod to the team’s name, with its roots in Norse mythology and warrior women known as the Valkyries. Last year, the owners of the Golden State Warriors, led by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, agreed to pay a $50 million expansion fee for a WNBA team in the Bay Area. The Valkyries will be the league’s first expansion franchise since Atlanta in 2008.
The Valkyries will play in San Francisco’s Chase Center, the Warriors’ $1.4 billion arena, which made the logo deal a natural fit. In 2016, JPMorgan Chase, which has $4.1 trillion in assets, reached a 20-year arena naming rights deal with the Warriors worth more than $15 million a year on average.
The Valkyries are already a hit in the market with more than 15,000 season ticket deposits nine months before their first game. The team will start the seat selection process in the Fall.
“This region of the Bay Area has been ready for this for a long time,” Smith told Sportico in May. Smith joined the Valkyries after four years at Angel City FC where she was head of revenue. “Even just those five years ago, there was a lot of education around why women’s sports, how to look at the valuations, how to reach this consumer differently and understand that it’s not the same consumer, and they are looking for you to approach your partnership in a different way.”
The WNBA is on the verge of approving Portland as its latest expansion team and plans to add a 16th franchise to start play by 2028. The league is on a roll with the buzz around its rookie class, led by Caitlin Clark, and a new $200 million-a-year TV deal worth 500% more than the previous one on an average annual basis.
In May, Sportico valued the average WNBA franchise at $96 million, with individual team values ranging from $55 million (Atlanta) to $140 million (Last Vegas). The Valkyries are likely to generate the WNBA’s highest revenue in their first season with one banker referring to them as the WNBA’s Angel City, which has consistently produced league-high revenues in the NWSL and just sold a control stake at a $250 million valuation.
