Jess Smith, the president of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, says there is a joke about an expansion team going out into the marketplace to create new business. The franchise may have no colors or a logo or even a team, yet the message is often, “but you should be supporting us,” she said.
That old saw may not be exactly right — the Valkyries have a logo and their color is a vibrant purple — but behind every joke there is truth. How exactly does a professional sports franchise sell itself when there isn’t much to sell?
The Valkyries launched only last October. They didn’t announce their team name until May. They have a general manager but no head coach. They have no players — the expansion draft isn’t until Dec. 6 — and no history. But they have grand ambitions and, so far, a few wins.
The franchise already has landed deals for some of their most premium signage available. Last month, they announced a multi-year deal with Chase as a jersey patch partner. Now, they have added Kaiser Permanente as a core jersey partner with a multi-year deal. The health care company will have its logo on the front of Valkyries jerseys starting in their debut 2025 season, and also will serve as the team’s physicians.
17,000 🤯
First in women’s sports history, and we couldn’t have done it without you. We can’t wait to tip off the season and create an incredible home court advantage at Chase Center. Let’s keep making history together! pic.twitter.com/YXgUMZfF2Q
— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) September 13, 2024
The Valkyries are driven by Smith, who brought experience in building nascent sports teams. She was the head of revenue for Angel City FC before she moved to Northern California to run the Valkyries. She helped make Angel City one of the most valuable teams in the NWSL. She has large ambitions for the Valkyries as well.
“The business sense of it, approaching it for so long in women’s sports — and I come from men’s sports — and then getting a peek behind the curtain when I was building Angel City, it’s like, you’d be in these rooms and everyone’s like, ‘Well, how do we not lose money? How do we sell enough tickets to not lose money?’ You’re like, well, what if we just sell out instead?” Smith said. “How are you approaching things to actually build something powerful instead? That was first and foremost, even with this ownership group, when I sat down and thought about this job, that’s how they built.”
The Valkyries have had success on the business side already. The franchise has had 17,000 season ticket deposits, Smith said, and just 4.9 percent of those have been Warriors season-ticket holders. That lack of overlap, Smith said, means it is hitting a new audience in the Bay Area — one she said will allow the Valkyries to bring in new sports fans.
That has proved attractive in selling sponsorships. While women’s sports has seen increased attention, the Valkyries can offer potential partners something different, too. Chase chief marketing officer Carla Hassan said the Valkyries always seemed to make a natural business partner for the financial company — they already sponsor the Warriors’ home arena, where the Valkyries also will play — but she wanted to find key reasons that they should work together.
Chase could reach new and different audiences by advertising with the Valkyries than they are so far, Hassan said, noting it’s the “combination of it makes good business sense and it’s good for the community.”
Smith has taken some of the lessons she learned at Angel City and infused them into the Valkyries. When she arrived in the NWSL, Smith said, there was less enthusiasm for women’s sports. At the time, she had to sell the future. Now, she can point to the present, where ratings are surging for the WNBA and business is steadily improving as the sport receives more attention.
Just as the WNBA’s next media deal has skyrocketed from the old one, the value of sponsorships have gone up in that time as well. That has allowed the Valkyries to take short- and long-term approaches. Even as the franchise builds its new fan base unique from Warriors’, Smith said they will come over too once a roster and a head coach are in place.
For now, one pitch the Valkyries made is the appeal of being tied to the franchise from the ground up. “I think the beauty and power in it is also that it’s the vision of doing it together for the first time,” Smith said. “There’s legacy brands and great partnerships. But there is also a power in being there from the beginning and from day one that no one can ever take away from us. Like this inaugural jersey that is going to mean something to this region and beyond.”
Smith said that in the first 60 days after the Valkyries unveiled their new name, they sold merchandise in every state and in 11 countries. The Valkyries have started to think globally to expand their reach.
Valkyries ownership, Smith said, also has given the franchise the resources to match their ambition. It will have as many as 70 employees by the first tip off, and they’ll share some services with the Warriors. While most WNBA teams are still losing money, Smith said, the Valkyries are already thinking about profitability — even in the first year.
“I would say yes, for sure,” Smith said. “Like any new business, you can decide when that moment is right and whether you’re going to double down on any specific initiative to move it forward.”
(Photo of Jess Smith: Bryan Steffy / Getty Images for AT&T)
