Sports Venture Week · Seattle · Thursday, Dec 3, 2026

The Business of
Women’s Sports

A full day on the money behind the fastest-growing sector in sports, at Rough & Tumble, Seattle’s first women’s sports bar.

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Hosted by

Rough & Tumble PubSeattle’s home for women’s sports

The platform for teams & communities

$3B

Global women’s elite sports revenue, 2026

Up 340% since 2022 · Deloitte

+59%

Average WNBA team value in one year

$427M average, up 345% since 2024 · Sportico

28.6B

Minutes of women’s sports watched, H1 2026

Up 18% year over year · Nielsen

+120%

Ad spend on women’s sports since 2022

Sponsor valuations: WNBA +71%, NWSL +82% · Nielsen

The growth

This isn’t a trend. It’s a market.

Women’s sports revenue has more than tripled in four years, and every stream is growing: commercial up to $1.4B, matchday to $911M, broadcast to $765M in 2026. North America is more than half the global market and has launched over eight new women’s leagues since 2020.

The audience is growing faster than the supply. 122 million Americans now follow women’s sports, 16 million of them new fans in the last year, and 60% say they’ve switched brands based on a company’s values. That’s why sponsor valuations in the WNBA and NWSL are up 71% and 82% in a single year.

The investment case

The money is moving. Early is still early.

The Seattle Storm sold for about $1 million in 2008. Sportico values the team at $425 million today. New WNBA franchises now cost $250 million to enter, and the league’s media deal pays $2 billion a year, five times the previous average.

Dedicated funds like Monarch Collective have raised $150M+ to invest only in women’s pro sports, and private equity, from Carlyle to Sixth Street, now owns stakes in NWSL clubs. The next decade’s teams, leagues, media companies and technology are being built now, and most of them are still looking for their first checks.

Seattle is already in

Three pro women’s teams. One city.

Storm (WNBA), Reign FC (NWSL) and the new Torrent (PWHL), plus the first women’s sports bar in the state. No other city makes a stronger case for this conversation.

WNBA

Seattle Storm

$425M valuation · 4 championships

NWSL

Seattle Reign FC

Owned by Sounders FC & Carlyle

PWHL

Seattle Torrent

Expansion team, first season 2025–26

Venue

Rough & Tumble

Washington’s first women’s sports bar

The day

9:30am

Check-in & coffee

10:00am

Opening panel

10:45am

Breakouts: the biggest challenges in women’s sports

11:30am

Panel

12:30pm

Curated lunch with conversation prompts

1:30pm

VC panel: investing in women’s sports

2:30pm

Women-founder pitch competition

4:00pm

Networking & happy hour

Women founders

Pitch live to the people who fund this space

A 3-minute pitch and Q&A in front of investors, leaders and difference-makers in women’s sports. Early stage welcome; you don’t need to have raised. Applications close November 10. Everyone hears back by November 15.

Apply to pitch

Save your seat

Thursday, Dec 3 · 9:30am – 6pm · Rough & Tumble Pub, 5309 22nd Ave NW, Ballard

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