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Zé Roberto Signed On Ten Days Before LOVB's $20 Million Number
Ownership stakes in seven of LOVB's ten teams have changed hands at roughly $20 million each, and the league has hired the bank that advised the NWSL.
League One Volleyball has played two seasons. It will have ten teams in 2027, four of which have never played a match. And stakes in seven of those ten have sold at around $20 million a team.
Bloomberg reported the valuation on Aug. 13. Sports Illustrated followed a day later with the other half of it: LOVB has retained Inner Circle Sports, the bank that previously advised the NWSL through its own run-up in franchise values.
Who Already Bought In
Houston went to Lone Star Sports and Entertainment in November 2025. Salt Lake's operating rights went to Synergy Sports Capital in March. Austin is co-owned by G9 Ventures, Bolt Ventures and Spurs Sports and Entertainment.
Commissioner Sandra Idehen told Sports Illustrated the appetite and demand coming from the market had surprised her.
The Hiring Says More Than the Number Does
Ten days before the valuation news, LOVB named José Roberto Guimarães head coach in Los Angeles. Zé Roberto is the only coach who has won Olympic gold with both a men's and a women's national team, and he has been to ten Olympic Games: gold in 1992 with Brazil's men, gold in 2008 and 2012 with Brazil's women, silver in 2020, bronze in 2024.
"Zé Roberto is the most decorated coach in the history of our sport," Idehen said. Owner Alexis Ohanian kept his shorter: "Hiring Zé Roberto is exactly what that looks like."
Minnesota finished its first staff last Friday, adding Cristian Piazzese and Remi Pourrat under head coach César Hernández González. Piazzese's last job was CSO Voluntari, the Romanian league champion.
What the Money Is Actually Buying
Sixty-six athletes have signed for 2026-27, including 31 internationals, ten Olympians and 17 All-Americans. Ten teams, two conferences. Austin has won both championships the league has ever held.
What has not been released is a 2027 schedule or a media rights deal. Those are the two documents that usually decide whether a $20 million valuation is a price or a wish.
