NWSL Surpasses Taylor Swift and YouTube in 2024’s Prestigious Business Innovators List

The National Women’s Soccer League continues to experience an upward curve. The developments within the 2024 season have made it increasingly evident that this year holds the potential for transformative growth within America’s women’s league. In fact, once again, NWSL has managed to etch its name in the history books after surpassing industry giants like Taylor Swift and YouTube in this year’s Prestigious Business Innovators list. 

Courtesy of Fast Company, the US-based business magazine released its annual ranking list of the world’s most innovative companies, covering 58 industries and sectors. Surprisingly, the NWSL managed to make the top 10 of the list, taking fifth place, for ‘resetting the value of women’s sports.’  The league trails behind United Auto Workers (4th), Microsoft (3rd), and Novo Nordisk (2nd), with tech-based firm Nvidia taking the first place. What makes NWSL’s rankings more interesting is that companies like YouTube (7th), Taco Bell (8th), and Taylor Swift Productions (15th) are all behind the USA’s women’s league. That’s not all.

It has also surpassed Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment, which stands just behind Swift’s production house. While architectural-based firm Gensler (6th) and aerospace engineering company KinetX (10th) managed to make the top 10, tech giants Google (30th), WhatsApp (32nd), and Adobe (33rd) all shockingly occupy spots far down the list. Indeed, the full list of 50 companies raises a lot of eyebrows. But what stands out from the crowd is that NWSL is surpassing such apex corporations. It’s truly remarkable to consider how the league has grown at such an impressive pace.

NWSL is just at the ‘beginning’ of its growth

“Women’s sports is a historically under-invested asset class,” said Jessica Berman, commissioner of the NWSL, in an interview with First Company. Certainly, these words are a testament to how committed she is to helping elevate the women’s league. In the past few years, big names like Serena Williams and Patrick Mahomes, who are investing in NWSL clubs, have showcased what the league is all about. Yet Berman believes the league is ‘just at the beginning of growth.’  

There was a time when NWSL team franchises were sold for approximately $5 million. However, the auctioning of expansion rights for Boston and the Bay Area for $53 million each in 2023 demonstrates its readiness to defy all norms associated with women’s sports. Be it the $240 million media rights deal or KC Current becoming the first women’s club to get its own soccer stadium in the world, the NWSL looks to dominate and change the course of women’s soccer. 

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