{"id":256148,"date":"2026-08-04T18:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/current-and-former-female-athletes-who-are-nwsl-investors\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T18:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T18:00:33","slug":"current-and-former-female-athletes-who-are-nwsl-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/04\/current-and-former-female-athletes-who-are-nwsl-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"Current and former female athletes who are NWSL investors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As womens sports have gained more attention, more influential individuals are starting to invest in the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL). The NWSL has a large share of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/celebrity-ownership-in-the-nwsl-star-power-strategy-and-structural-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">celebrity owners<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who have helped amplify the league, but many other fellow athletes have followed suit. Notable <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/40246609\/which-celebrities-own-nwsl-team\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">names<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> include Kansas City Cheifs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Houston Rockets Forward Kevin Durant, and retired NWSL star Alex Morgan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many fellow female athletes, outside of soccer, have also rallied to support the NWSL. From Alpine skiers to WNBA stars, influential and accomplished women are investing in professional women\u2019s soccer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Angel City FC (ACFC)\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_62388\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62388\" style=\"width: 959px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-62388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-62388 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"959\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages.webp 959w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-768x513.webp 768w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-600x400.webp 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 959px) 100vw, 959px\"\/><\/noscript> <em>(Photo Credit: Getty Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the NWSL team located in Los Angeles, there are plenty of stars who own part of ACFC. Some of these stars include <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnba.com\/player\/201496\/candace-parker\/profile\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Candace Parker<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.billiejeanking.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Billie Jean King<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtatennis.com\/legends\/230234\/serena-williams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Serena Williams,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> who all dominated their respective sports. Parker is considered one of the best WNBA players of all time as she\u2019s a 2-time WNBA MVP, 3-time WNBA Champion, and a 2-time Olympic gold medalist. King is a Southern California native and womens tennis legend. She\u2019s won 39 Grand Slam titles and founded the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtatennis.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women\u2019s Tennis Association<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Williams is known as one of the best tennis players of all time, with 23 Grand Slam titles, 4 Olympic gold medals, and held world no.1 ranking for 319 weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Bay FC<\/b><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQAm2NZAXbt\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many current and former Bay Area athletes are investors in Bay FC, notably <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnba.com\/player\/1629477\/sabrina-ionescu\/profile\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sabrina Ionescu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Ionescu is a professional basketball player who grew up in the Bay Area and had a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.uoregon.edu\/sabrina-ionescu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">historic collegiate career<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the University of Oregon. Currently, Ionescu is a multi-time All-Star guard for the WNBA\u2019s New York Liberty. In 2024, she helped lead them to the franchise\u2019s first WNBA Championship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Boston Legacy FC\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_62387\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62387\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-62387 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive-1024x682.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-62387\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-62387 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive-1024x682.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive-1024x682.avif 1024w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive-300x200.avif 300w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive-768x512.avif 768w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive-600x400.avif 600w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Meredith-Perri-MassLive.avif 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/noscript> (<em>Photo Credit: Meredith Perri\/MassLive)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite being one of the NWSL\u2019s newest teams, Boston has a star-studded group of owners. In July 2025, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnba.com\/player\/1641648\/aliyah-boston\/profile\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aliyah Boston<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> announced that she invested in the Legacy. Boston is a WNBA multi-time All-Star forward for the WNBA\u2019s Indiana Fever and a former No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Another part-owner of the Legacy is a Massachusetts native and multi-time Olympic gold medalist, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/athletes\/alexandra-raisman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aly Raisman<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Raisman is a retired gymnast who is known for being the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the floor exercise. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/usctrojans.com\/sports\/womens-basketball\/roster\/juju-watkins\/18627\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JuJu Watkins<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is also a part of Boston\u2019s ownership group. Watkins is a star guard for the USC Trojans and became the first college athlete to invest in a professional womens sports team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs the first college athlete to directly invest in a women\u2019s professional sports team, she\u2019s showing that today\u2019s student-athletes aren\u2019t just building their own brands,\u201d said Jennifer Epstein, Boston Legacy owner. \u201cThey\u2019re shaping the future of the game.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Denver Summit FC\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DU540YEDsWJ\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the other 2026 NWSL expansion team, Denver also has an accomplished Olympian in their ownership group. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/athletes\/mikaela-shiffrin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mikaela Shiffrin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was born in Colorado and is the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most decorated\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">American alpine skier in World Championships history. She is also a 4-time Olympic medalist, most recently winning gold in the women\u2019s slalom at the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcolympics.com\/videos\/mikaela-shiffrin-shines-gold-medal-slalom-victory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2026 Winter Olympics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Gotham FC\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_62386\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62386\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-62386 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-62386\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-62386 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/@NWSLX-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/noscript> <em>(Photo Credit: @NWSL\/X)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of Gotham FC\u2019s minority investors is another retired WNBA star. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnba.com\/player\/100720\/sue-bird\/profile\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sue Bird<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was born in New York and joined Gotham\u2019s ownership group in 2022. Bird played collegiate basketball at UConn, where she was a 2-time NCAA National Champion and 2002 National Player of the Year. She spent her entire WNBA career playing for the Seattle Storm, where she was a 13-time All-Star and 4-time WNBA Champion. In 2025, she was inducted into the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hoophall.com\/hall-of-famers\/sue-bird\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbhof.com\/member\/sue-bird\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Womens Basketball Hall of Fame<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>North Carolina Courage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C4TTd59OE0H\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The North Carolina Courage also have a tennis star in their ownership group. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.womenshistory.org\/education-resources\/biographies\/naomi-osaka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naomi Osaka<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> became a minority owner of the Courage in 2021. She is a professional tennis player who broke out in 2018 when she beat Serena Williams to become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title. On top of her 2018 victory, she has six other singles titles, including three more Grand Slam titles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Utah Royals<\/b><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_62385\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-62385\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-62385 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-62385\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-62385 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/UtahRoyals.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/noscript> <em>(Photo Credit: Utah Royals)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denver is not the only team that has an accomplished skier as an investor. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympics.com\/en\/news\/lindsey-vonn-all-ski-titles-records-medals-complete-list\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lindsey Vonn<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> officially announced her investment in the Utah Royals in February 2024. Vonn is considered one of the greatest alpine skiers in history. She is an Olympic gold and bronze medalist, has 84 World Cup victories, and 20 World Cup crystal globes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Featured image via <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/bayfc.com\/press-releases\/bay-fc-welcomes-wnba-champion-sabrina-ionescu-as-latest-investor-and-commercial-advisor-to-the-club\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Bay FC<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">_<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS<\/h4>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> <!-- CONTENT END 2 --><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/girlssoccernetwork.com\/current-and-former-female-athletes-who-are-nwsl-investors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As womens sports have gained more attention, more influential individuals are starting to invest in the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL). The NWSL has a large share of celebrity owners who have helped amplify the league, but many other fellow athletes have followed suit. Notable names include Kansas City Cheifs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Houston Rockets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":256149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6805],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-256148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-womens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}