The Chicago Sky are principally owned by Michael Alter, a Chicago commercial real estate developer who founded the franchise and paid a reported $10 million expansion fee to bring it into the WNBA in 2006. He holds the largest individual stake and serves as the team’s lead governor. In 2023, the ownership group expanded to include minority investors such as former NBA star Dwyane Wade, Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts, and several other prominent business figures. The franchise was most recently valued at roughly $390 million.
Michael Alter, Principal Owner and Founder
Alter secured the WNBA expansion rights in February 2005, and the Sky took the court for their first season in 2006. His day job is running the Alter Group, a commercial real estate firm. From the beginning he brought local investors in as minority partners, but he has held the largest individual stake for nearly two decades, giving him primary control over major financial decisions, executive hiring, and the team’s direction.
As lead governor, Alter represents the Sky in league-wide meetings where broadcast deals and revenue-sharing frameworks are negotiated.1WNBA. WNBA And WNBPA Reach Tentative Deal on Historic Collective Bargaining Agreement He has been at that table since the franchise’s beginning.
The 2023 Minority Investor Round
The ownership group grew significantly in 2023 when the Sky sold roughly 10% of the franchise to a group of eight new investors at an $85 million valuation.2WNBA. Sportico: Chicago Sky Add Owners, Including Laura Ricketts at $85M Valuation The class was predominantly women and included:
- Laura Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs
- Mary Dillon, then the CEO of Foot Locker
- Laura Desmond, CEO of digital advertising platform Smartly.io
- Tina Tchen, the former head of Time’s Up
- John Rogers, a longtime minority owner already in the group
Shortly after that funding round, Dwyane Wade bought in at the same $85 million valuation, becoming the franchise’s most publicly visible investor.3WNBA. Dwyane Wade Invests In WNBA’s Chicago Sky Wade, a three-time NBA champion and Chicago native, brought a level of national attention that few minority owners can.
Nadia Rawlinson’s Operating Role
Nadia Rawlinson holds the title of Co-Owner and Operating Chairman and oversees day-to-day business operations.4WNBA. Staff Directory Where Alter functions as the controlling owner with final authority on major decisions, Rawlinson focuses on growing commercial revenue through partnerships and sponsorships. The split is common in franchise ownership groups: one person holds the largest financial stake while another runs the business side.
The Steven Rogers Lawsuit
Alter’s control of the franchise has been challenged in court. In January 2026, minority owner Steven Rogers filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that Alter violated his fiduciary duty to investors by misallocating and misrepresenting the franchise’s value for his own benefit. The suit claims Alter used his position as the team’s sole manager to increase his own ownership stake at an unfair price while diminishing the value of minority partners’ shares. According to the complaint, Alter declined to appoint a board of directors or advisors and ran the team as a personal enterprise.
The dispute traces back to transactions after the Sky’s 2021 championship. Rogers alleges that in September 2022, Alter told minority owners the nominal value of their stakes had dropped even though the team’s overall value was climbing. In February 2026, a Cook County judge granted Rogers’ request to seal the complaint. No other minority investors have publicly joined the lawsuit, and Alter faced a mid-April 2026 deadline to either answer or move to dismiss the case.
How the Franchise Has Grown in Value
The Sky’s valuation tells the broader story of women’s professional basketball over the last two decades. Alter paid a $10 million expansion fee in 2005. By 2023, when the minority investor round closed, the franchise was valued at $85 million. As of 2026, CNBC pegged the team’s value at approximately $390 million, reflecting the league-wide surge in media rights, attendance, and corporate interest.
For the owners who bought in at the $85 million mark, the paper gains have been substantial in a short window. Whether that value translates into cash depends on finding buyers, and the Rogers lawsuit suggests not everyone in the ownership group agrees on how the growth has been shared internally.
How WNBA Ownership Works
The Sky don’t operate as a fully independent company. Like all WNBA teams, the franchise is a membership right granted by the league and governed by its constitution and bylaws. Ownership entitles the group to operate in the Chicago market and share in collective revenue from media deals and licensing, but it comes with obligations around financial disclosure, salary cap compliance, and league-wide standards for facilities and travel.
New investors must receive approval from the WNBA Board of Governors before finalizing any equity stake, a vetting process that applies to both expansion ownership groups and minority investors joining existing teams. That requirement is why each addition to the Sky’s ownership group, from the 2023 class through Wade’s subsequent purchase, moved through league review before closing.5National Basketball Association. Constitution and By-Laws of the National Basketball Association