Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are set to launch their 3-on-3 league, Unrivaled, in January, offering players the highest average salary in women’s professional sports history. All salaries will be six figures, and players will have an equity stake in the league. “Compensation is a huge part of Unrivaled as a league and a business,” Collier told The Associated Press. “For players to have a piece of the pie essentially to grow their generational wealth is something we’re really excited about.”
Stewart emphasized the importance of adequate compensation for players who often work overseas to supplement their WNBA income. “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,” she said.
Unrivaled will run for eight weeks, featuring 30 players divided into six teams, playing on a court about two-thirds the size of a WNBA one. Games will be shorter than WNBA games, with details on the rules to be released later. Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell said, “It’s meant to solve some of the things that I think just from an average fan’s perspective watching women’s basketball that is missing.”
The league has attracted notable investors including Carmelo Anthony, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and more, with former ESPN President John Skipper and former Turner President David Levy handling media rights and sponsorship sales.
Collier highlighted the importance of childcare and proper facilities for players, while Bazzell noted the strong relationships and return on investment for women’s sports. Levy described the league’s potential impact, saying, “I’ve never seen a win, win, win like this on all aspects that there are no losers.”
Reflecting on the league’s progress, Stewart remarked, “There’s nothing not to like about it, the only thing people are scared of is that it’s in its first year.”
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