Chase Bank extends Golden State sponsorship to Valkyries in multiyear partnership

The GIST: On Wednesday, JP Morgan Chase announced its longtime Golden State Warriors sponsorship will also extend to the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries. As the team’s first founding partner, Chase’s multiyear partnership provides the W team with a powerful marketing edge backed by the financial institution. Bank on it.

The details: Chase Freedom — the bank’s credit card brand — will become the jersey “shield” sponsor for the team’s inaugural 2025 season. The partnership will additionally see JP Morgan Chase invest in the Bay Area community by furthering initiatives which support financial literacy and women-owned small businesses.

• JP Morgan will also reward all cardholders who purchase their 2025 Valkyries season tickets using a Chase credit or debit card with an exclusive gift — no points needed.

The background: In 2016 — at the height of the Warriors dynasty — Chase signed a 20-year arena naming rights deal worth $300M, the largest in NBA history at the time. The Chase Center finally opened in 2019 after being privately financed for a whopping $1.4B, but the Warriors practically print money — the team was annually generating about $2B in revenue at the time.

• Majority owner Joe Lacob’s investment caused the team to soar from its $450M purchase price in 2010 to an $8.2B valuation in 2024, and the Valkyries are poised for more of the same under Lacob, who also owns the W squad.

• By the time the Valkyries’ Chase Center block party event rolled out in May, the team had already received over 7.5K season-ticket deposits. That number now stands at more than 15K — a record for a U.S. women’s sports franchise.

Zooming out: JP Morgan Chase has a robust sports sponsorship roster that includes running, tennis, and cricket as well as teams like MLS’ Inter Miami, with whom they inked a stadium naming rights deal earlier this year.

• In the W, banks are encroaching on the league’s limited real estate — U.S. Bank is a WNBA Changemaker, while Barclays and Ally sponsor individual teams. But with Chase’s 120-year Bay Area ties, established Golden State presence, and built-in consumer base, this partnership makes sense for the Valkyries.

• San Francisco, a sports hotbed for decades, is also home to the U.S.’s highest median annual income. Ultimately, for Chase and its basketball teams, the Bay will always be bae.