Jayson Tatum's love for St. Louis runs deep, and he's apparently willing to spend to bring another professional sports franchise to his hometown.
The Boston Celtics star has "informally agreed" to invest in a bid led by billionaires Richard Chaifetz and David Hoffman to bring a WNBA expansion franchise to St. Louis, Sportico's Jacob Feldman reported Thursday.
If the bid comes to fruition, Tatum could be the first active NBA player to have ownership stake in a WNBA franchise after the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement (ratified in April 2023) allowed players to own up to 4 percent of WNBA teams.
Tatum and his investors will have plenty of competition, though; several other major U.S. cities have been rumored to have interest in the WNBA's 16th team, including Denver, Miami, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The league already has added three expansion teams in San Francisco (the Golden State Valkyries, joining in 2025), Toronto (joining in 2026) and Portland (joining in 2026) and interest is expected to be high for the latest expansion franchise.
"More than a dozen candidates are expected, with some predicting that the ultimate winner could pay more than $200 million for the slot," Feldman wrote of the bidding process.
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Whether St. Louis wins the bid or not, Tatum's involvement is a testament to his strong ties to the city. The 26-year-old has made significant investments in his hometown since becoming an NBA superstar, regularly hosting basketball camps there during the offseason and most recently partnering with SoFi to donate $1 million for people to buy homes in St. Louis this past February.
Tatum returned to St. Louis this past summer to throw out the first pitch at a Cardinals game alongside fellow St. Louis native Matthew Tkachuk, whose Florida Panthers joined Tatum's Celtics as champions of their respective leagues.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert said earlier this month the league plans to pause its search for a 16th franchise due to the overwhelming interest, so we may have to wait a bit to find out if Tatum will add "WNBA part-owner" to his resume.
