The Houston Rockets and owner Tilman Fertitta have been clear for some time now on the desire to own a WNBA franchise. The Houston Comets, one of the league’s inaugural eight teams, shuttered in 2008 and since Fertitta bought the Rockets in 2017, he has said the goal was to ultimately bring the WNBA back to Houston.
On Monday, the organization announced a long-rumored deal to purchase the Connecticut Sun was now official, with an agreement in place to acquire the franchise for a record $300 million and relocate them to Houston for the 2027 season where they will take back the Comets name pending league approval.
The WNBA has changed rather dramatically over the last 18 years and has emerged as a commodity for its partner league, the NBA. What was a very fledgling offering back in the late ’90s, undervalued by virtually everyone save fans and league ownership, is now big business. A recently completed collective bargaining agreement will, once and for all, provide real compensation to WNBA players, who were often relegated to playing overseas in the offseason to make a living.
Thanks to an influx of star potential like Caitlin Clark and some deft maneuvering from the NBA and its partners, the WNBA has managed to carve out more than a niche and capitalize on the increasing popularity of women’s sports in America.
The acquisition of the Sun brings yet another asset into the fold for the Fertitta family who opened a brand new practice facility just last year and has committed to numerous renovations in and around Toyota Center.
For fans who remember the first four titles (you can still see the banners in the Toyota Center rafters) with players like Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson and Sheryl Swoopes (nevermind legendary coach Van Chancellor), it will be a thrill to have a WNBA franchise back in Houston. Even in those challenging times for the WNBA, the Comets were a bright spot, routinely leading the league in attendance.
With the league just completing their new CBA and expanding to Toronto and Portland, the Rockets organization picked a fortuitous time to get back in the league. Not only will numerous players be available in free agency — a strategy employed to maximize value they knew would be coming — along with the draft, new TV deals (along with the Space City Home Network) will give the new Comets greater visibility than the original Comets could ever have hoped.