Unrivaled, a women’s 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Lynx star Napheesa Collier, is set to launch in January 2025, the league announced Thursday. The new league will pay athletes a minimum six-figure salary and promises the highest average salary in U.S. women’s professional sports when it begins.
All players will have equity stake in the new league.
“It’s really important to us,” Collier told The Associated Press. “Compensation is a huge part of Unrivaled as a league and a business. All the players in this first year will have equity in the league. For players to have a piece of the pie essentially to grow their generational wealth is something we’re really excited about.”
Plans for the new women’s league were originally made public ahead of the 2023 All-Star Game and was originally slated to begin in January 2024. The league is a response to the WNBA’s controversial prioritization rule, a requirement in the current WNBA CBA that mandates players arrive at training camp on time or else be suspended for the entire season. The requirement went into effect this spring and posed as an issue for those who played overseas basketball to earn more money.
The average WNBA base salary now eclipses the $100,000 mark with top players earning an average that surpasses the $200,000 mark. Players can also receive revenue through endorsements.
“It’s amazing, not only for the salaries to be similar or more than your WNBA salary, but to be able to build brand partnerships that can’t come into the W or the NBA,” Stewart said. “It’s more than just an initial salary, but showing these companies who you are as a player.”
The league is set to take place in Miami and will run for eight weeks. Thirty players will be divided into six squads. The teams will play on a court about two-thirds the size of a WNBA floor. The league will be three months long and have a training camp before competitive play begins.
Final rosters will be announced at a later date. Stewart and Collier — both former UConn teammates — will play in the league and said some WNBA All-Stars have already signed on to participate. Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said official playing rules will be released at a later date. Bazzell, who is married to Collier, is spearheading the league along with Stewart and his wife.
Players will be housed about 15 minutes from the facility, which is a soundstage that’s being built, according to the AP. Collier told the publication weight rooms and recovery rooms will be available.
“Stewie and I both have families and understand the importance of childcare,” Collier told the AP. “Make sure the parents in the league are taken care of.”
The league unveiled an All-Star lineup of investors Thursday, including former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, U.S. Women’s National Team World Cup winners Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan and Hall of Famer Steve Nash.
“It’s not just about the dollars, but the relationships they have. We’ve been very selected with the people we brought in,” Bazzell said. “Investing in women’s sports there’s a ROI for it now. We wanted to have a group of people we could call up and say ‘Hey can you help in this area?’”
Former ESPN president John Skipper and former Turner president David Levy are both investors and will lead the charge in obtaining the league media rights deal, according to AP. Levy, who is the co-founder and co-CEO of Horizon Sports & Experiences will work on Unrivaled’s sponsorship sales efforts.
“I’ve never seen a win, win, win like this on all aspects that there are no losers,” Levy said. “The fans win, the media companies win, the leagues win, the ladies win. It seems unusual to get all that lined up at a moment in time. It’s like a penny stock that can go to a $10 in, you know, a year from now, two years from now.”
With News Wire Services
