The recently concluded 2024 WNBA season was a huge success and the offseason is off to a strong start. Two star athletes are reportedly involved in expansion deals 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 about Kansas City being in the running for a future expansion team.
The Mahomes are now no strangers to owning sports teams. In addition to owning part of the Current, they also co-own the Sporting KC men’s professional soccer team, as well as the Kansas City Royals.
Boston Celtics megastar Jayson Tatum also wants to financially back a WNBA expansion team. According to Sportico, Tatum has “unofficially” agreed to support a bid to bring a team to his native St. Louis. Led by billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman, the bid doesn’t yet have a “formal structure,” but Tatum wants to do more than just write a check. Via Sportico:
“Tatum has unofficially agreed to invest in the team if it comes to fruition and to contribute behind the scenes to the group’s pitch, both to other potential big-name investors and to the league itself, according to sources involved in the offer.”
At least six cities are in the running to host the WNBA’s 16th franchise. St. Louis and Kansas City should be in the running alongside Philadelphia, Miami, Milwaukee and Denver.
