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OL Reign is for sale again. The news was confirmed on Wednesday by majority owner OL Groupe while refuting details of a report from French outlet L\u2019Equipe<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n OL Groupe\u2019s response came to <\/em>L\u2019Equipe\u2019s<\/em> bombshell report that Michele Kang<\/a>, the owner of the National Women\u2019s Soccer League\u2019s Washington Spirit, is purchasing majority ownership of the Olympique Lyonnais women\u2019s team.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know for sure, what we don\u2019t know, what it all means, and how we got here:<\/p>\n This much is confirmed: The Reign, one of the NWSL\u2019s eight original franchises, is for sale again. OL Groupe confirmed this in a press release on Wednesday<\/a>. The Raine Group, an investment bank that has advised many major sports acquisitions<\/a>, is in charge of the sale.<\/p>\n An NWSL spokesperson issued the following statement to The Equalizer<\/em>: \u201cWe\u2019re aware of OL Group\u2019s interest in exploring the sale of OL Reign and will continue to work closely with them to ensure any potential owner(s) are aligned with our league\u2019s vision and values.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Reign said that all questions should be directed \u201cto the current ownership group,\u201d which had not replied to direct requests for comment as of publishing time.<\/p>\n Subscribers of The Equalizer <\/em>can now save 50 percent<\/strong> off their subscription to our partner publication, The Next<\/em>. Between the Locked On Women\u2019s Basketball <\/em>podcast, watch parties on Playback and more than 100 reported stories per month, The Next <\/em>has women\u2019s basketball covered 24\/7.<\/p>\n Kang will purchase a 52% stake in Lyon\u2019s women\u2019s team, the eight-time champions of Europe, per L\u2019Equipe<\/em>, which also reports that the team is currently valued at nearly \u20ac50m (about $55 million). Kang would be buying out 52% of the team and the remaining 48% would remain with the OL Groupe, beginning June 30. Since the report, the club has sent out a press release<\/a> calling the article unverified and questioning both the ratification of an agreement and the terms.<\/p>\n Kang\u2019s ownership of Lyon women would create a serious conflict of interest for Kang if OL Groupe remained the owners of the Reign, but OL Groupe\u2019s confirmation that it is selling the Reign removes that concern from an NWSL board level.\u00a0<\/p>\n L\u2019Equipe<\/em> reports that the news will be confirmed at the OL Groupe board of directors meeting on Thursday. As a part of gaining the majority stake in the team, Kang will have to cover the women\u2019s side annual deficit, which runs at nearly \u20ac12 million, per the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Kang, purchasing the historical European powerhouse team doubles down on her commitment to major investments in women\u2019s soccer after setting a new bar for NWSL team valuations with her $35 million takeover of the Washington Spirit in early 2022<\/a><\/strong>. This also positions the Washington Spirit to greatly benefit from the relationship with Lyon, a club that has been home to and continues to attract the world\u2019s best players.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the past, Lyon and the OL Reign have enjoyed a very successful partnership with loaning players back and forth with ease. Dzsenifer Marozsan, Sarah Bouhaddi, and Eugenie Le Sommer all joined the Reign on loan from Lyon in 2021. Once OL Reign has new ownership, the Spirit will get to be the NWSL team taking advantage of this mechanism.<\/p>\n Notably, the Spirit made an odd decision to do away with its historical red-and-blue branding in 2023 for a bland, black-and-white crest (and kits)<\/a><\/strong>. Kang called it a \u201crebrand in progress.\u201d Her positioning the Spirit as Lyon\u2019s sister team is almost certainly related.\u00a0<\/p>\n In OL Groupe\u2019s press release, the entity noted that it has \u201cdemonstrated its strong desire to create the first women\u2019s multi-club, based on synergy across all continents\u201d and \u201cis currently talking with a number of new partners to develop its project\u00a0 and even more reaffirm and amplify its position as the world leader in women\u2019s football.\u201d<\/p>\n Kang would be spearheading this with what we know today, and have known for the past decade to be, the Washington Spirit. It could mimic the model of Red Bull (on the men\u2019s side) or City Football Group (on the men\u2019s and women\u2019s sides) building a global network of teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n For John Textor, the news means not having to worry about a team he likely wasn\u2019t interested in, and freeing himself of debt associated with said team. Textor purchased Olympique Lyonnais late last year<\/a> and was notably mum about the women\u2019s operation, including both Lyon and the Reign. Additionally, in January Kang was spotted with Textor at a Crystal Palace match against Manchester United. The two are both deeply connected to the Palm Beach, Florida, area. Textor has stakes in clubs around the world, including Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n Textor also allegedly tweeted as recently as 2019<\/a> about the U-15 Dallas boys team that once defeated the U.S. women\u2019s national team in a scrimmage, a classic troll argument in the years-long equal-pay lawsuit. One tweet might not sum up a person, but in the case of the U-15 truthers \u2013 as the popular radio segment goes \u2013 \u2018that\u2019s all I need to know about you.\u2019<\/p>\n For OL Groupe, selling the Reign right now makes financial sense. The French owners purchased the Reign for a valuation of $3.51 million<\/a><\/strong> in a deal that closed in the first weeks of 2020. Two years later, Kang bought the Spirit for 10 times that, setting a new bar. The Bay Area expansion group joining the NWSL in 2024 just paid a $53 million fee to join the league<\/a><\/strong>. OL Groupe certainly spent plenty of money on the Reign in the three years since, but they stand to make a considerable amount back in a potential sale.<\/p>\n For the Reign, it\u2019s another moment of franchise uncertainty. In 2017, the Reign were staring down relocation<\/a> (San Antonio and California were possibilities at the time) as the team looked for ownership amid ongoing financial losses. A move to Tacoma<\/a><\/strong> and the addition of several minority investors in 2019 was a short-term fix<\/a><\/strong>. In the end, so too was the OL Groupe sale.<\/p>\n Within a year of the takeover, former NBA player Tony Parker \u2013 who holds minority ownership of the Reign by way of his deal with Jean-Michele Aulas, the longtime orchestrator of Lyon\u2019s women\u2019s team who has since lost his power within OL Groupe \u2013 said that he (or perhaps \u201cwe\u201d) wanted to move the Reign to Miami<\/a>.<\/strong> The Reign refuted that report, but the seeds of doubt were there about OL Groupe\u2019s commitment to the team and the Seattle market. Aulas had previously told The Equalizer<\/em> that he wanted to bring an expansion team to Miami before OL Groupe decided to acquire the Reign.\u00a0<\/p>\n OL Groupe invested enough to get the team back in Seattle, at Lumen Field, which is a huge improvement from a converted baseball stadium in Tacoma. The OL takeover also stripped the Reign of arguably the best branding in the NWSL<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Now, the team looks for new owners who can potentially reconnect the brand more formally with the city of Seattle and rejuvenate it in a way that makes the Reign more relevant to a sports-crazy city.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the NWSL, the Reign are the third team now actively for sale, meaning one quarter of active teams in the league are on the market for sale. The Chicago Red Stars and Portland Thorns have been looking for new ownership since late 2022, in the wake of multiple reports about a league-wide culture of abuse and enablement.\u00a0<\/p>\n The OL Groupe\u2019s purchase of the Reign was an uncomfortable move from the start for some within the NWSL\u2019s board (which has changed drastically since then), including but not limited to how the NWSL team might be able to circumvent league rules to acquire players. That tension won\u2019t be going away if the Spirit become Lyon\u2019s new partner. <\/p>\n As of yet, we don\u2019t know who will buy the Reign. This time, unlike the threat of relocation six years ago and the dalliance with Tacoma (and maybe or maybe not Miami), the Reign \u2013 and the NWSL \u2013 are on more solid footing to stay in the market, especially with the improved training facility setup<\/strong><\/a> and calling Lumen Field home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports<\/span><\/p>\nWhat we know right now<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nWhat it means<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nWhat we don\u2019t know<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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