The Ricketts family acquired controlling ownership of the Cubs and Wrigley Field in 2009. Chicago, which has significantly lower attendance and sponsorship revenues, is expected to sell for less. The most public bidder for the Thorns, an all-women investor group led by former Nike executive Melanie Strong, would reportedly value the three-time NWSL champions at $60 million.
The club was one of several caught up in the league-wide abuse scandal, news of which broke in 2021, and was particularly implicated in the pair of resulting reports.Ĭhicago was put up for sale the same day as the Thorns, which share an ownership group led by Merritt Paulson with MLS’ Portland Timbers.
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Whisler was a founding owner of the Red Stars, which debuted as a Women’s Professional Soccer team in 2007 and went on to become an NWSL franchise upon the league’s birth in 2013. A representative for Inner Circle declined to comment. Whisler engaged investment bank Inner Circle Sports, which just led the NWSL’s expansion round, to facilitate the sale. Berman said the priority is finding the right ownership groups willing to invest adequately.Īs Sportico first reported, Red Stars majority owner Arnim Whisler began the process of selling Chicago’s NWSL club in December after he was implicated in a pair of investigations into widespread abuse and rampant misconduct within the league. The ballooning expansion fees mirror rising valuations throughout the league: the Washington Spirit were valued at $35 million in early 2022 Gotham FC at $40 million a few months later and Angel City FC, now entering its second season, has raised money at a valuation over $100 million.Īt a press conference Monday, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said the league was not going to set an “artificial deadline” for the sales of Chicago or the Portland Thorns, both of which went up for sale late last year. As recently as two years ago, most teams were valued in the low single-digit millions, but the league is on the verge of adding two expansion teams-one in the Bay Area and the other in Boston-at fees of more than $50 million. The Red Stars sale comes amid a significant jump in NWSL valuations. “We’ll have to methodically build an attack and be less transitional and be able to get more numbers to sustain pressure higher up for longer periods of time to create more chances.The Ryan family has not submitted a bid, nor is it part of any group that has, according to someone close to the family. “We have to attack a little differently,” coach Rory Dames told the Tribune last week. None is a like-for-like replacement, but each provides the team with different styles, depth and versatility. Insofar as you cannot directly replace a player like Kerr, the Red Stars in the offseason acquired forwards Kealia Watt, Rachel Hill and Makenzy Doniak. In the three matches Kerr missed last season while captaining Australia in the World Cup, the Red Stars not only were winless but were shut out in all three games. In addition to setting league records, the superstar striker scored 34 goals in 40 games with the Red Stars. To say Kerr was prolific is an understatement. Whether the departure of Kerr - and her plethora of goals - will be an albatross remains to be seen. One aspect of the rule - dubbed the “Sam Kerr rule” - is that allocation money can be used on players whose salaries exceed the cap. To prevent the loss of a player of Kerr’s ability in the future, the NWSL implemented rules allowing teams to spend up to $300,000 beyond their usual expenses. The Australian striker, last season’s MVP and Golden Boot winner, signed with English club Chelsea in November for a contract reportedly worth around $1 million. 27, 2019, at Sahlen's Stadium in Cary, N.C. Chicago Red Stars forward Sam Kerr walks off the field after the team lost 4-0 to the North Carolina Courage in the NWSL final on Oct.
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