Years ago, Orlando Pride co-owner and chairman Mark Wilf got a knot in his stomach as he watched his daughter get ready for penalty kicks during a middle school soccer match.
"I remember how tense it was," he tells The Athletic . "She was a goalie, and it came down to penalties." His daughter's team won.
Last year, that knot returned, as did the jubilation, during the final minutes of the NWSL Championship when the Pride lifted the trophy thanks to a goal from forward Barbra Banda against the Washington Spirit at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
"We always loved sports, playing them and going to games," he said. "Seeing how much team spirit, being part of sports and what it does for young people and communities, I always dreamt of being, one day, part of a sports team."
Wilf grew up in New Jersey, where sports were a family affair. His father, a Holocaust survivor, embraced the NFL in his new country and frequently took his family to football games whenever possible. And it wasn't just American Football. The Wilfs were among the 77,000 people watching Pele in 1977 , when the soccer legend played for the now-defunct NASL's crown jewel, the New York Cosmos, at Giants Stadium.
The family's dream of owning a sports franchise came to fruition in 2005. Wilf, his brother Zygi and their cousin Leonard bought the financially crippled Minnesota Vikings for $600 million. At the Vikings practice facility, a replica Viking ship sat in the parking lot, its wood rotting. The brothers' first decision was to rebuild the ship and fix the HVAC system for the locker rooms, ensuring that fans understood they were investing in the team and for the players long-term. The family was also instrumental in building US Bank Stadium as part of a public-private partnership.
Sixteen years later, Wilf led the 2021 acquisition of Orlando City in MLS, the Orlando Pride in NWSL and Exploria Stadium in a deal valued at roughly $400 million. The DeVos family, owners of the Orlando Magic, took a minority stake. Two years later, basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill — who is a co-owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks — and his wife, Grammy-nominated singer Tamia Hill, joined the Orlando Soccer Holdings ownership group.
"When we did meet, it became evident that Mark's vision, passion and commitment to the franchise's success would form the foundation for sustainable achievement," Hill told The Athletic . "Everything he has done since aligns with what was observed in our initial meeting."
Wilf was soccer curious all along. While building the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, he was already looking at Major League Soccer. Once the opportunity knocked on their door in Central Florida and Orlando's former owner, Flávio Augusto da Silva, put the team up for sale, he did not hesitate.
The Pride has been part of the NWSL since 2016 as an expansion club. It first hired former U.S. women's national team manager Tom Sermanni and signed U.S. star Alex Morgan , instantly elevating expectations. However, they failed to find the rhythm they had expected, finishing the inaugural season ninth out of 10 teams. In 2017, they brought in Brazilian soccer phenom Marta. The impact was instant.
Orlando climbed to third place before losing in the playoffs to the Portland Thorns, who took home the silverware that year. However, the team failed to reach the postseason in the following campaigns, finishing no higher than seventh until last year.
When Wilf first arrived in Orlando in 2021, he was surprised by the amount of work that needed to be done.
"The facilities weren't where they needed to be," he said. "We've spent a lot of time upgrading locker rooms, making sure the players have the right facilities around the fields, everything. We wanted players to walk in and feel this was a first-class organization."
The 2022 season wasn't smooth. Head coach Amanda Cromwell, hired that season after a celebrated run at UCLA, was placed on administrative leave in June following a joint NWSL/NWSLPA investigation into "alleged retaliation" under the league's workplace misconduct policy . She was dismissed in October. Assistant coach Seb Hines, who had no prior head-coaching experience, stepped in as interim. They ended up finishing the season 10th overall, but there was hope for change.
Ahead of the 2023 season, the Pride made Hines the head coach and hired former Houston Dash goalkeeper Haley Carter as the club's general manager. Wilf credits Carter and Hines — and Marta — for transforming the Pride into what he calls "a team with real soul."
"When we came in, Marta was nursing an ACL (injury)," he said. "But she was out there working her tail off, setting an example. She's radiant. She's a leader in every sense."
The Pride's 2024 campaign became a defining moment for the club.
They signed Barbra Banda to a four-year deal, paying a reported $740,000 transfer fee — the second-highest in women's football history at the time. Carter overhauled the personnel; she is currently the club's vice president of soccer operations and sporting director, and Hines started honing the 4-3-2-1 formation. The best news was that Marta was back on her feet again.
Last year, speaking with The Athletic , Carter shared her thoughts on the success of the team and gave credit to the ownership style of the Wilf family: "Invested and in regular communication, but not overly fiddly or micro-managey," she said, explaining what helped Pride reach the playoffs after so many years.
"That whole year was something special," Wilf said. "You win the Shield, but then you still have to survive the playoffs." He has seen Marta's iconic semifinal goal several times and still gets goosebumps, like he is seeing it for the first time.
In the final, Orlando outlasted the Spirit to lift its first major trophy. "It was a crescendo," Wilf said. "Holding on in those final minutes, it's something I'll never forget. To have such a historic season like last year and winning the double like we did, it doesn't happen by accident."
The win capped a storybook season for the club, which shattered multiple league records, including the most points, most wins and most clean sheets. The Pride went unbeaten at home in the regular season and adding two more postseason victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
After the championship, a new side of Wilf was uncovered: his dance moves.
"Fans might be surprised by Mark's dancing talents after winning championships," Hill recalled. "After we clinched the title last year in Kansas City, he appeared briefly on the dance floor. I'd rate him an 8.5 out of 10."
Pride's dominance on the pitch and the dance floor showed up everywhere, including the NWSL awards in 2024. Hines was named NWSL Coach of the Year, while Emily Sams took home Defender of the Year. The Pride also had five players on the Best XI: Sams, Marta, Banda, Anna Moorhouse , and Kerry Abello.
"When you steward a franchise, whether it's the Vikings or the Pride, you're responsible not just for winning, but for creating something the community can be proud of," Wilf said. "That's what my parents taught us."
Despite Pride's epic run in 2024, the 2025 season has been anything but smooth. The reigning champions clawed their way back to the postseason despite losing last year's championship MVP, Banda, to a season-ending injury, navigating the tricky blend of new and returning players, and absorbing forward Adriana 's departure.
Off the field, revenue from Pride sponsorships has increased drastically since the first season of Wilf family ownership. Following the 2024 season, the club has sold more new season ticket memberships for 2025 than it did for 2024, 2023, and 2022 combined, according to the team, and according to Forbes , the Pride is valued at $92 million. The club also became the first NWSL team to surpass one million social-media followers.
"Winning helps," Wilf said. "But it's about investing in people and culture."
At the league level, Wilf sits on the NWSL's executive committee, where he's been pushing for continued professionalization.
"When we came in, the league wasn't where it needed to be in terms of structure and depth," he said. "With commissioner Jessica Berman, we've built real momentum. Better media deals, stronger sponsorships, smarter governance. We're still early, but the trajectory is there."
According to SponsorUnited's 2024–2025 NWSL Marketing Partnerships Report , league-wide team sponsorship revenue hit $75 million in 2024, a 16 percent jump from 2022. On average, clubs pulled in about $5 million apiece, with individual deals landing around $170,000.
"Women's soccer in the U.S. is in the first half of its potential," Wilf said, in NFL terms. "We're building something that will be world-class. More fans, more investment, global talent wanting to come here."
After Banda's record-breaking transfer in 2024, the Pride signed Jacqueline 'Jackie' Ovalle, the Mexican forward nicknamed La Maga (the magician), in a world-record transfer for women's football over the summer , worth $ 1.5 million in fees.
"We brought in two of the highest-paid transfers in women's sports history because we believe it's what the fans want," he said.
Owning an NWSL team is different from owning an NFL franchise, but Wilf sees parallels.
"The NFL is the NFL. It's such a premier sport. The product is so incredible, and it builds cities and brings people together. The game itself is so exciting," he said.
"The NWSL brings a different kind of excitement for me. It was a league with real potential, essentially at ground level, but ready to take off, and needed to be professionalized. I am very proud to have worked alongside the other owners to help build the league office from the early days and to be part of shaping what we hope will remain a high-growth league for years to come."
On Sunday, the Wilf family will be back in the stands at Inter & Co Stadium, bracing for another nerve-shredding semifinal against Gotham FC that could send the Pride to a second straight final.
The tension, the roar, the whole roller coaster will be there, and if things break Orlando's way, Wilf might just find himself back on the dance floor, chasing that perfect 10.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Minnesota Vikings, Orlando City SC, Orlando Pride, NWSL, Sports Business, Women's Soccer
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