Ohanian: A Women’s Sports Team Will Be Worth $1B by 2030

Alexis Ohanian is all in on the trajectory of women’s sports.

The Seven Seven Six general partner predicted that at least one pro women’s sports team will cross the $1 billion threshold in value by 2030. The remark came during Sportico’s Invest in Sports conference at the Nasdaq Marketplace in New York City on Monday afternoon.

It’s not the first time the venture capitalist, known for co-founding Reddit, has been bullish on the future of women’s sports. After all, he’s the co-founder of NWSL’s Angel City FC (which was recently sold to Bob Iger and Willow Bay) and co-created reality TV series The Offseason with NJ/NY Gotham FC’s Midge Purce. He also started passion project, Athlos, a women’s only track and field venture.

The prominent investor and husband of tennis star Serena Williams touched on how investing in women’s sports properties differs from early-stage startups and how ACFC was started with help from an early conversation with ex-USWNT and NWSL star turned businesswoman Alex Morgan.

“I decided, okay, I got to do it,” he said after the conversation. “Started talking to existing owners (about) buying their teams. And by the end of 2019, had paid a million dollars, which was in price for an expansion at that point for what would become Angel City FC. And most of my friends in investing said I would lose all of my money at the same time.”

ACFC has since been pegged as the NWSL’s most valued franchise at $250 million, according to the latest Sportico valuation.

Ohanian was joined on stage for the “RISE: The Business of Women’s Sports” panel by former WNBA champion Fran Harris and Next 3 founder and Gotham FC governor Carolyn Tisch Blodgett. The group discussed several topics, from rising team valuations to women-focused brand partnerships with leagues and organizations.