Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly decoded what sophisticated capital needs from women's sports

Your Women's Sports Business Digest

January 22, 2026

"Follow the money" is Bloomberg's editorial philosophy, and it's also how Jason Kelly identified why women's sports growth headlines weren't converting to institutional capital.

When the NWSL secured a media rights deal 40 times larger than before, Kelly expected the private equity investors he'd covered for decades to deploy quickly. They didn't.

Not because they doubted the market, but because traditional valuation methods couldn't justify the numbers.

Kelly spent five years interviewing executives like Jess Smith, who built two of the most valuable women’s sports franchises, and developed a four-phase audit that converts investor skepticism into committed capital by addressing what sophisticated money evaluates: audience composition, infrastructure quality, distribution friction, and risk allocation matched to property maturity.

🤿 Below the Surface

Here's what's on deck this week:

  • Signal Strength: What Bloomberg learned covering women's sports for Wall Street's biggest investors

  • In the Current: The year-round marketing power of Olympians, WNBA releases schedule despite CBA stalls, and women’s flag football on the rise

  • Blue Zone: BOWS 2026 → Get your ticket now! 

  • Shark Bite: LOVB’s CMO on partnering with Peyton Manning

⚡️ Signal Strength  

How Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly Has “Followed the Money” Straight to Women’s Sports

Jason Kelly has covered Wall Street and private equity for Bloomberg for 23 years. As Chief Correspondent for Bloomberg Originals and host of The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, he brings institutional investment analysis to sports business audiences navigating market structure shifts.

We know women’s sports is growing. Headline after headline showed it, but investors Kelly had covered for years—Josh Harris, Mark Lasry, David Blitzer—remained skeptical about investing in women’s sports. But Kelly knows there’s a booming market of opportunities.

By the numbers:

What they're saying: "The makeup of the audience is fundamentally different, and therefore you have to think about the inputs to the valuation in a slightly different way." — Jason Kelly

Phase One—Reframe around audience quality

Women's sports audiences skew toward household financial decision-makers. When Bloomberg covered Angel City or Liberty's Brooklyn move, Kelly emphasized sponsorship revenue trajectories and household demographics rather than broadcast viewership.

Phase Two—Audit infrastructure investment

The gap between Kansas City Current's stadium and North Carolina Courage's venue is massive. Infrastructure investment functions as a leading indicator of franchise health.

Phase Three—Measure discoverability friction

Kelly's 22-year-old son independently turns on Liberty games because he knows where to find them. Fragmented distribution across five or six platforms creates friction that undermines investment returns.

Phase Four—Match portfolio risk to maturity

David Blitzer's portfolio spans Washington Commanders to challenger leagues. Liberty partnerships carry different risk-reward than League One Volleyball backing. Success metrics need to match property maturity levels.

Kelly emphasized that continuous doubling is mathematically impossible. Smart money understands women's sports requires patient capital over decade-long timelines, giving corporate sponsors permission to evaluate partnerships through pure commercial lenses rather than charitable framing.

📰 In the Current  

We monitor the current so you can ride the wave. Here's what you need to know this week:

🦈 Blue Zone  

BOWS 2026: Future-Proofing the Business

Deep Blue’s fourth annual Business of Women's Sports Summit is set for April 14th in NYC, presented by GEICO. The focus this year: the business case is proven—now how do we scale it?

Join us to hear from industry experts, including Sue Bird, Swin Cash, and Ashlyn Harris. Plus, drop by the new "women's sports cafe" dedicated to networking as we bring the biggest players under one roof.

More speakers to be announced!

Read more from Marketing Brew → | Register now →

What "Status Quo" Means for Women's Sports Partners

The WNBA's CBA deadline has passed, and for commercial partners, the implications are layered. Laura Correnti breaks down what this means for brands:

  • Short-term → Planning paralysis as free agency freezes and marketing assets remain tied up

  • Long-term → A revenue-share model that could make the league more investable than ever

🌊 Shark Bite

“At LOVB, we understand the importance of storytelling, which has become the backbone to building our league… By partnering with Omaha Productions and Peyton Manning, we are confident that LOVB will continue to deliver the exact product fans are looking for and help us further break through to the masses.”
– Raquel Braun, Chief Media Officer at LOVB

Impressive growth percentages don't move institutional money; credible business cases do. 

Kelly's methodology shows the entire sports market audience–brands, teams, and leagues–how to build investment cases that survive internal scrutiny and convert skepticism into opportunity.

– Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment

Interested in learning what deep blue is up to? Have an idea?  

Reach us at [email protected].

Rising Tide is published by Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, the first-of-its-kind firm designed to identify, create, and influence business models and growth opportunities in women's sports for forward-thinking brands.