The WNBA’s recently completed 2024 season was a huge success and the offseason is off to a great start. Two star athletes are reportedly getting involved in expansion bids that would bring professional women’s basketball to Missouri.
Kansas City Chiefs franchise quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany are working to bring a WNBA expansion team to Kansas City, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Mahomes and his wife are part of the ownership group of the KC Current, the women’s professional soccer team, which has reportedly met with the WNBA over Kansas City vying for a future expansion team.
The Mahomessen are currently familiar with sports team ownership. In addition to owning part of the Current, they are also co-owners of the professional men’s soccer team Sporting KC, as well as the Kansas City Royals.
Boston Celtics megastar Jayson Tatum is also interested in financially backing a WNBA expansion team. According to Sportico, Tatum has “informally” agreed to an offer to bring a team to his native St. Louis. Led by billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman, the bid does not yet have a “formal structure,” but Tatum wants to do more than just write a check. Via Sportico:
“Tatum has informally agreed to invest in the team as it comes to fruition and to contribute behind the scenes to the group’s pitch, both to other potential major investors and to the league itself, according to sources involved with the offer.”
At least six cities are vying to be home to the WNBA’s 16th franchise. St. Louis and Kansas City are expected to compete alongside Philadelphia, Miami, Milwaukee and Denver.
