Kansas City Chiefs Star Patrick Mahomes Wants in on WNBA Expansion
The 12-team WNBA will be expanding as soon as next season, as the Golden State Valkyries are becoming the league's 13th team for the start of 2025.
This is a fascinating development, especially because the recent boom in attention and popularity within all of women's basketball means that the league getting bigger could not come at a better time.
And Golden State joining the WNBA is just the start. It also has been announced that the cities of Portland and Toronto will also be receiving expansion teams, and those franchises are expected to start playing games by the 2026 season.
The WNBA has made it clear that they don't want to stop there, as they've asserted that they'd like to add a 16th team by the 2028 season at the latest.
It's currently unknown where this 16th team would be located. But an October 30 report from NFL insider Adam Schefter made it clear that one NFL superstar wants to get involved.
"As WNBA expansion continues, ownership of the NWSL's KC Current — which includes Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany — has met with the WNBA and is in contention to bring the league's next franchise to Kansas City. Mahomes also co-owns the KC Royals and Sporting KC," Schefter wrote on X.
As WNBA expansion continues, ownership of the NWSL's KC Current — which includes Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany — has met with the WNBA and is in contention to bring the league's next franchise to Kansas City. Mahomes also co-owns the KC Royals and Sporting KC. pic.twitter.com/9kd2VXzWR3
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 30, 2024
Patrick Mahomes is a three-time Super Bowl winner, three-time Super Bowl MVP, and two-time NFL MVP — and is still just 29 years old. He has a reported net worth around $90 million, but that is going to grow as Mahomes begins receiving more of the 10-year, $450 million contract extension he signed with Kansas City back in 2020.
In other words, Mahomes (combined with the rest of the ownership group) has the funding to back a potential WNBA expansion team — and he seems keen to do so.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.