Houston to get WNBA team in 2027 as Connecticut Sun sold and set to relocate, source says

The Connecticut Sun have reached an agreement to sell the team to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for $300 million and will move to Houston in 2027, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Friday because the deal hasn't been announced publicly.

Move still needs approval

The WNBA Board of Governors still needs to approve the sale and the move. The team will play in Connecticut for the upcoming season before moving to Houston and returning as the Comets.

This will end the team's 23-year run in New England after the franchise moved from Orlando to Connecticut in 2003.

Houston was one of the groups that expressed interest in buying the team last year, eventually raising its bid to $250 million — the amount that Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia paid for expansion fees. Now, with the $300 million sale price, that's the highest a team has been sold for in WNBA history.

Boston offer blocked by league

The Sun had an offer for $325 million from a group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca that would have moved the franchise to Boston. 

The WNBA basically blocked that deal from happening by saying that "relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams."

The league also went on to say that other teams had gone through the expansion process and had priority over Boston.

Expansion context and ownership trend

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during a news conference to announce the three new expansion teams that Houston was up next.

Since Mark Davis bought the Las Vegas Aces in 2021, the WNBA has added a series of owners with NBA connections. Golden State, which joined last season, is owned by the Warriors, and Portland and Toronto will enter this season with ownership groups tied to NBA teams.

The next three expansion teams – Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia – are all owned by NBA groups in those cities.

New CBA and facility standards

The WNBA just agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement last week, where teams need to have top-notch facilities similar to those of NBA franchises.

The news gives the franchise a clearer picture heading into free agency next month.

The Houston Comets, one of the league's original franchises, won the first four WNBA titles from 1997-2000. The team folded after the 2008 season.