Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is eyeing the next venture for himself and the ownership group of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current: a WNBA expansion team.
Mahomes, a part-owner of the Current, as well as MLB’s Kansas City Royals and MLS’ Sporting KC, made his pitch for bringing a WNBA team to the city Thursday.
“We want to get basketball to Kansas City in general and the WNBA and the success that they’ve had this last season and these last few seasons, it’s kind of a no-brainer to try to get a WNBA team in Kansas City,” he said.
Mahomes’ comments come amid a wave of growth for the WNBA, which intends to expand to 16 teams by 2028. Its 13th team, the Golden State Valkyries, will debut in 2025 as the first WNBA expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008. The 14th and 15th teams — in Toronto and Portland, Ore. — will debut in 2026.
The 16th team is still up for grabs. Mahomes’ wife, Brittany, was a founding owner of the Current, and Mahomes joined the ownership group in 2023. He pointed to the Current’s success as a reason Kansas City is a fit for the WNBA.
“They’re going into the playoffs now and you see the support that they have,” he said. “So let’s try to get a WNBA team in here as well and kind of that same-type ownership group….
