USC basketball star Juju Watkins has invested in Boston Legacy FC, the NWSL club revealed Thursday morning. She is the first college athlete to invest directly in a pro women’s sports team.
Watkins joins a deep roster of celebrity investors in the ownership group led by Jennifer Epstein, including Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, actress Elizabeth Banks, WNBA star Aliyah Boston, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Boston Celtics general manager Brad Stevens.
No financial details were released.
Boston was awarded the NWSL’s 15th franchise in 2023 and will start play next year. Epstein’s group—along with NWSL club Bay FC, which started play this year—paid a $53 million expansion fee. NWSL team values have soared in the two years since then; Denver secured the league’s 16th expansion slot for a $110 million fee.
In September, Boston Legacy secured a loan of more than $100 million to renovate White Stadium, which opened in 1949; the team plans to make the stadium its permanent home beginning in 2027. The club will play its inaugural season at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., home of the NFL’s New England Patriots.
“I wish we were launching in our permanent home … but it’s a great time to play in Gillette,” Epstein said at Sportico’s RISE: Women’s Sports event in September. “The World Cup is coming to Boston. We’ll have the best players in the world in this sport in our city. It will be a summer of soccer in Boston.”
Watkins has been one of college basketball’s biggest stars during her first two seasons at USC. During her freshman year, she ranked second in the country in scoring and was a unanimous All-American selection, and she was Naismith College Player of the Year during her sophomore year. She is sitting out the 2025-26 season while recovering from an ACL tear.
Watkins also invested in upstart basketball league Unrivaled during its $28 million Series A round that closed just ahead of the league’s second season, which starts in January 2025. She later signed a separate NIL deal with Unrivaled.
More than 40 current or former professional athletes have invested in NWSL teams, including Sue Bird, Kevin Durant and Eli Manning in Gotham FC; Alex Morgan and Jimmy Butler in the San Diego Wave; and Mia Hamm, PK Subban and Lindsey Vonn in Angel City FC.