A significant legal dispute has emerged surrounding the ownership of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, casting a shadow over the franchise’s operations. Last week, minority stakeholder Steven Rogers initiated a lawsuit against the team’s majority owner, Michael Alter. The core allegation, as detailed in court documents, is that Alter violated his fiduciary responsibilities to the other investors, engaging in actions that deliberately diminished the team’s value to serve his personal interests.
The legal filing contends that these actions transpired in 2022, a period following the team’s historic first and only WNBA championship victory. According to the complaint, Alter orchestrated a scheme of “opportunistic self-dealing” which involved diluting the ownership stakes held by minority partners. This maneuver is said to have preceded a pivotal 2023 funding round, a transaction that subsequently drew Laura Ricketts, co-owner of MLB’s Chicago Cubs, into the Sky’s ownership group.
Valuation Discrepancies and Broader Implications
The entry of Ricketts into the ownership structure was predicated on a franchise valuation of $85 million. This figure stands in stark contrast to an external assessment published later. In a late 2025 report, the financial magazine Forbes positioned the Chicago Sky as the world’s most valuable women’s sports team, attributing to it a valuation of $130 million. This substantial discrepancy between the internal transaction valuation and the subsequent public market estimate forms a critical pillar of the plaintiff’s argument, suggesting the earlier deal may not have reflected the team’s true market worth.
The lawsuit, therefore, transcends a mere internal financial disagreement. It brings to the forefront complex questions regarding corporate governance, fiduciary duty, and valuation practices within the rapidly evolving landscape of professional women’s sports. The outcome of this legal proceeding is poised to be closely monitored across the sports industry, potentially setting precedents for how ownership conflicts and team valuations are handled in the future.