The Golden State Valkyries have already achieved several milestones, and yet they still have a chance to better their 2026. The WNBA team became the first professional women’s sports team to top $100 million in annual revenue. All smiles as the Valkyries made the 2026 WNBA Finals in the same year that they hit the $100m milestone in generated revenueGettyThis follows after a league-leading $78 million of revenue in its debut season, per Sportico. This was 48 percent more than the second-placed Indiana Fever, who have superstar, and face of the WNBA, Caitlin Clark in their ranks.But what makes this feat even more impressive is that the Bay Area-based team are only in their second season, having been introduced to the WNBA as an expansion franchise in 2025. Calling the Chase Center home – also the home of NBA juggernauts Golden State Warriors – the Valkyries have continued the trend from their maiden season and regularly sold out the 18,000-seat arena.View Tweet: https://t.co/1kP56u5YZpThis has partly contributed to them hitting the $100 million milestone, but having gone on an emphatic run all the way to the 2026 WNBA Finals, where they will face Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream for the coveted trophy, this figure could yet rise to as much as $130 million. Sponsorships have been a huge asset when it comes to generating so much revenue, with owner Joe Lacob having done tremendous job partnering with some of the world’s biggest companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Sephora, Rakuten, and United Airlines.Alongside the sister team Warriors, they also penned a $50 million per year deal with AI cloud provider Iren, whose branding is featured on the team’s warm-up jerseys. But the Valkyries organization have gone above and beyond to help out their rivals, too. When the news emerged that their WNBA Finals opponents Dream were unable to host their home games at the 17,000-seat State Farm Arena due to scheduling conflicts, Lacob reportedly stepped in and helped lobby for the schedule to be made more accommodating. Even though it would have given more of an advantage to the Valkyries to host at Chase Center and then have Atlanta play to a 3,500-capacity crowd at Gateway Center Arena, Lacob put the growth of women’s basketball at the heart of his argument to both the under-siege WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The Valkyries have sold out Chase Center ever since they came into the WNBA in 2025GettyThe Valkyries have put a really balanced roster together with elite head coach Natalie Nakase at the helmGettyThe result – the WNBA went and amended the schedule of Game 3, whilst the Atlanta Hawks moved the time of their opening home game to allow Game 4 to go ahead at State Farm Arena in a big W for women’s sports. Valkyries setting the standard on and off the courtBut Golden State’s road to the WNBA Finals in 2026 has certainly not been a fluke. Head coach Natalie Nakase led the Valkyries to the playoffs in her first year at the helm. After the new lucrative Collective Bargaining Agreement was finalized, the team went out and penned star free agent Gabby Williams to a multi-year deal, showing a real statement of intent that they wanted to continue to build as a franchise in their second year. They also nabbed three-time WNBA champion Kiah Stokes in free agency who would go on to lead the team in rebounding. The 33-year-old veteran, Williams, and last season’s standout Veronica Burton, have formed an underrated ‘big three’ in Golden State, with the trio’s chemistry serving as a huge contributing factor to Ballhalla finishing with a 32-12 record – the second-best mark in the WNBA. Furthermore, forward Janelle Salaün made history by becoming the first player to be unanimously selected as the Sixth Player of the Year, showing to the league that you don’t necessarily need a standout super star to compete to the highest level. Gabby Williams’ arrival to the Bay Area as a free agent in 2026 has been revolutionary to the teamGettyThe Valks stay winning on and off the court, and have developed a model any professional women’s sports franchise – even outside of basketball – should aspire to followGettyNonetheless, the Valkyries success off the court has been just as big as it has on the court, with Ballhalla proving that women’s pro sports continues to be on the rise. For the WNBA’s latest expansion franchises, including the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, who both had their inaugural seasons in 2026, the model set by the Valkyries is there to follow.With the Cleveland Sirens set to join the WNBA in 2028, and Detroit and Philadelphia-based teams arriving in 2029 and 2030, the league will be up to 18 teams demand is high for that number to grow.Even the WNBA’s current teams, and other sports like women’s soccer, should be taking note as the formula to success is very clearly on display in the Bay Area.