While Women’s sports kept making bigger statements of success, Ariel Investments made a bold prediction that hinted at an even greater benchmark.

2026 has witnessed many significant feats in women’s sports, notably in the WNBA. And amidst these, the Chicago-based global asset management firm stated that the ceiling can reach up to $1 billion by 2031.

“That’s going to happen pretty soon,” Ariel president and general counsel Emma Rodriguez-Ayala told Front Office Sports. “If you think of small-cap investing, how we invest in little companies that are still public companies, or private, that can blow it out of the park, that’s women’s sports.”

In February, Ariel raised $250 million for their fund, Project Level. The goal is $1 billion, and the targets are women’s teams and leagues in the U.S. and Europe. And keeping an eye on the numbers, the goal might be feasible.

From the Connecticut Sun selling for a record $300 million in March, or the New York Liberty drawing out $450 million in 2025, it’s not just the WNBA. In January 2025, the NWSL team Denver Summit’s expansion fee was $110 million.

These are the surface-level highlights of where some of the women’s pro franchises are currently standing. And former NFL running back Jason Wright highlighted what drives this growth.

Jason Wright Explained the Real Reason Behind the Growth Surge

Currently, Ariel’s managing partner and the head of investments for Project Level, Wright, revealed that this surge is different from a mere popularity drive. This is an evolution “fueled in part by a surge in girls’ youth sports participation” that will leave prominent trails.

“There’s strong commercial momentum that is going to last longer than just a flash in the pan,” Wright said to Front Office Sports. “It’s going to be a great 10-year run no matter what, even if we all fumbled it.”

However, he also mentioned that “if we do this right, this becomes a 30-year run on these assets that will continue to grow even faster than men’s sports.”

Moving forward, do you believe that women’s sports are heading towards such significant shifts in the future? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Souvik Roy