In 2019, Jill Ellis led the U.S. Women’s National Team to a World Cup victory, and today is dealing with several legal matters in her role as the former president of San Diego Wave FC. Ellis is an English-American soccer manager and previously coached the U.S. Women’s team from 2014 to 2019, helping them win two World Cup championships. After she stepped down as head coach, she remained with the team through the World Cup victory tour and continued to work with U.S. Soccer as an ambassador through October 2019. In December 2024, she became the Chief Football Officer of FIFA.
In between, Ellis co-founded the San Diego Wave FC in 2021 with businessman Ron Burkle. She served as the team’s first president before stepping down for her opportunity with FIFA in 2024. Ellis played a key role in bringing a professional women’s team to the city of San Diego. Serving as the team’s president, she oversaw decisions for the team and helped build the team’s identity. Ellis used her experience as a previous USWNT coach to recruit top players and staff. Well-known figures such as Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma, and head coach Casey Stoney joined the team at its start, and the team immediately began to gain attention. In the team’s first season, the Wave broke NWSL attendance records and made the playoffs, a rarity for a new club..
Fast forward to today’s Wave FC, and Ellis is dealing with a lawsuit brought by San Diego Wave FC’s current owners, Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. The owners claim that the departure of Ellis devalued the club’s worth by $40 million. According to KPBS, the owners are asking for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees. The suit was filed on September 30 in the San Diego Superior Court.
The owners allege that Ellis misrepresented her intentions to remain with the club during last year’s purchase negotiations. The owners claim that she had promised to stay with the Wave after the team’s sale, only to resign two days after the deal was completed. Accused of intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, concealment, and false promise, the suit claims these actions led to a loss of at least $40 million in enterprise value for the club.
Some see this lawsuit as a response to a request by Ellis for payment from the Wave FC owners. The request was made in writing through Ellis’s lawyer. According to a letter from her attorneys sent to the Wave FC’s owners and obtained by ESPN, Ellis signed a five-year contract in December 2021 that paid her $1 million in her first year with escalators to follow. An attorney for Ellis also stated, “Ms. Ellis attempted in good faith to work out these financial matters directly with the owners, but she was rebuffed. Ms. Ellis was then forced to retain counsel, who last week requested in writing that she be paid. This lawsuit is a direct result of that written demand” (source: KPBS).
A spokesperson for the Wave provided the following statement to ESPN: “This is a legal matter between the Levine Leichtman Family Office and Jill Ellis. San Diego Wave FC is not a party to this lawsuit. Our focus as a club remains on our players, our fans, and the community as we continue building an exciting future for women’s soccer in San Diego.”
Additionally, a staff member of the San Diego Wave FC who spoke on condition of anonymity shared, “It doesn’t seem to be something affecting the team or even on the players’ minds at this point of the season. At times, it feels like all we know is what we are reading online with everyone else.”
Given this information and the team’s recent success, it appears that the legal battles surrounding the team’s ownership have not unduly affected the team’s on-field focus. The team appears to be attentive to competing fiercely in their final game of the season.
“Courts are generally reluctant to impose involuntary servitude through injunctions, which often shape how these disputes proceed,’ said Jeremy Evan, CEO of California Sports Lawyer®. “As with many high-profile legal matters, the validity of the claims will ultimately depend on the specific facts, evidence, and contract language at issue to see which side will prevail.”
Evan’s comment highlights the courts’ caution in effectively forcing someone to continue working against their will. Given the complexity of the case and Jill Ellis’s high-profile role in women’s soccer, the outcome could be a defining moment for the business side of women’s sports.
As of early October 2025, the lawsuit against Jill Ellis is scheduled to be litigated in the California Superior Court. Following the September 30 filing by the San Diego Wave’s new owners, the parties will respond to the allegations and proceed with discovery. Updates on the lawsuit and its impact on Jill Ellis and the San Diego Wave will follow as new information becomes available.