St. Louis wants to join the WNBA

The WNBA is expanding more than ever right now. The Golden State Valkyries will join in next season and franchises in Toronto and Portland will also join the season after that.

But the WNBA is looking to add a 16th franchise before the 2028 season as the league has experienced rapid growth after last season. There have been new media deals, increased business investment and higher attendance and TV viewership. While the cities mentioned are Miami, Nashville, Philadelphia, Cleveland and more. A city that is not talked about much is St. Louis. But Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum wants to make that happen.

According to a report from Sportico Tatum has “informally” agreed to back a billionaire-backed bid to bring a WNBA team to Missouri. The group is co-led by Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman, both who have been involved in owning professional sports teams in the past.

Tatum isn’t the first male athlete to show interest in joining the fun in the WNBA. Quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes also related to an effort to get Kansas City an expansion team. Given the popularity of the competition over the past year, it’s no surprise that all these athletes want to join the W. However, bringing a team to St. Louis is interesting.

St. Louis has only three Major League teams in the NHL, MLB and MLS. Although they haven’t had an NBA franchise in 55 years since the St. Louis Hawks left in 1968, this could be a great opportunity for the city to get back into basketball. Tatum, who grew up in St. Louis, has an opportunity to bring a professional basketball team to town. He won his first NBA title and threw out the first pitch at a Cardinals game this summer with the Larry O-Brien Trophy, but he wants to spread the love even more to his hometown.

“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 in the offer,” said Jacob Feldman. for Sportio.

He just signed the biggest deal in NBA history worth $315 million and has the money to get involved in sports team ownership. Since the most recent CBA allows him to have a maximum 4 percent stake in a WNBA franchise, it’s possible he could make that a reality. What matters is whether the bids keep coming in.