Ron Burkle to sell San Diego Wave

Principal San Diego Wave FC owner Ron Burkle is set to sell his majority share in the club by the end of the 2024 season according to a report by Sportico. 

According to Sportico the deal is worth $113 million dollars and will be the biggest in NWSL history. The Levine Leichtman family will take a 35% minority stake now before buying the rest of the 65% at the end of 2024 season. 

Arthur E. Levine and Lauren B. Leichtman, founded their private equity firm in 1984 and currently has $9.3 billion dollars in assets under their management according to their website. 

Burkle bought the rights to an NWSL franchise originally meant for Northern California with his MLS team in Sacramento, but he later backed out of that deal. He retained rights to the NWSL team and paid a $2 million expansion fee in 2022 after deciding to move the team to San Diego. 

Burkle did make headlines in the offseason in The Athletic, when his name came up in court documents in a lawsuit involving Jeffrey Epstein. Burkle was not under investigation or being charged for any crimes, but the document said that he and others had “knowledge of (Epstein’s former girlfriend) Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking conduct.”

Still the Wave have been one of the most successful franchises in NWSL with strong play on the field winning the NWSL Shield thanks to star players such as Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma. The club has also set the standard for attendance in the NWSL averaging the best attendance in the league and hosting multiple record-breaking events  at their rented home of Snapdragon Stadium.

Team President Jill Ellis who consulted Burkle through the club’s inception will likely remain in the same position as the owners were UCLA boosters while she was the head coach of the women’s soccer team. 

“(The Levine Leichtman family) have been great supporters of mine for many years, and I have no doubt they will fit right in with the San Diego Wave community, and it is my pleasure to welcome them to the organization,” Ellis said in a news release.

The Wave will play Friday, in a one-off  competition against reigning NWSL Champion’s Gotham FC in the NWSL Challenge Cup before officially starting their regular season on March 23 against Kansas City Current at home.