CHARLOTTE — Jayson Tatum is exploring serving to to convey a WNBA workforce to St. Louis, because the fast-growing league continues to look into including franchises. In response to a report by Sportico’s Jacob Feldman, Tatum has informally agreed to put money into an possession bid that may convey a franchise to his hometown.
“Tatum has informally agreed to put money into the workforce ought to it come to fruition and contribute behind the scenes to the group’s pitch, each to different potential big-name buyers and the league itself, in response to sources concerned with the bid,” Feldman’s report states.
At Celtics shootaround on Friday morning, Tatum declined to share extra details about his curiosity in seeing a WNBA workforce in St. Louis.
“I can’t converse on it an excessive amount of proper now, however there shall be a time once I can, and I’ll be capable to elaborate,” Tatum stated.
The potential St. Louis possession group is co-led by billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman, in response to Sportico. Chaifetz has invested in quite a few skilled sports activities groups, whereas Hoffman is an actual property developer who additionally owns the St. Louis Blues minor league affiliate.
Why may Jayson Tatum be concerned?
From a enterprise perspective, it’s no shock that Jayson Tatum has explored co-owning a WNBA workforce — he’s been concerned in quite a lot of ventures, together with launching a signature shoe with Jordan Model, co-authoring a picture book, turning into the face of Coach, and partnering with Gatorade, Ruffles, and Subway, amongst a slew of different corporations. It’s appeared that every time there’s a enterprise alternative, Tatum and his workforce have helped explored it, and with the burgeoning progress of the WNBA over the previous few years, the truth that Tatum has seemed into partial WNBA possession appears to line up together with his monitor file of various investments.
Tatum has additionally maintained an in depth relationship together with his hometown all through his skilled basketball profession with the Celtics. His basis, the Jayson Tatum Foundation, has partnered with native organizations in St. Louis since 2017, together with launching a hurricane reduction effort in 2017, a number of backpack drives, and quite a few different charity occasions. He additionally hosts a summer time JT Elite Camp in St. Louis for among the high highschool and school basketball gamers within the nation. In August, he threw out a primary pitch earlier than a St. Louis Cardinals recreation.
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Proudly owning a stake in a WNBA franchise is now a reputable chance for NBA gamers. Gamers are allowed to come clean with 4% of a WNBA franchise, in response to the most recent collective bargaining agreement. Tatum, who signed the largest contract in NBA history in July, is now within the combine for such an funding.
The place else might the WNBA broaden?
Final season, the WNBA included 12 twelve lively groups, with three extra within the works. The Golden State Valkyries are set to affix subsequent season, whereas Toronto and Portland will each formally enter the WNBA in 2025. That brings the overall quantity as much as 15 — and it’s believed the league will need one additional team to spherical issues out at 16 by 2026.
A lot of different cities have explored founding a WNBA workforce of their metropolis, together with Philadelphia, Miami, Milwaukee, Charlotte, and Denver, amongst others. Boston has additionally been floated as one other potential location for a workforce, although the Connecticut Sun’s ownership has made clear they might not assist such a bid.
In a press convention earlier than the WNBA Finals, commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated there have been about 10 groups who have been fascinated by turning into franchise No. 16.
“The excellent news is we now have quite a lot of demand from many cities. I’d say 10 or so, possibly even plus at this level, as a result of I believe the extra individuals are watching the WNBA and seeing what we’re rising right here … they see the financial influence of getting a WNBA workforce of their metropolis, the function mannequin locally these gamers characterize,” Engelbert stated.
May St. Louis actually be subsequent?
Missouri’s capitol metropolis at the moment doesn’t have an NBA workforce — although St. Louis does have an NHL workforce, the Blues, and an MLB workforce, the Cardinals. Town hasn’t had an NBA workforce since 1968, however now, with Tatum’s involvement, they could possibly be one step nearer to housing an expert basketball workforce in a area that’s lengthy had a shortage of WNBA illustration.
