Unrivaled announces $340M valuation, plans for upcoming season

The GIST: On Monday, Unrivaled shared that after last December’s successful Series A investment round, the league’s recent Series B round brought its valuation to $340M, or almost 10x its initial May 2024 valuation. With investors and sponsors circling the next big thing in women’s basketball, let’s dive into why the league works and what makes it truly unrivaled.

The investment: Bessemer Venture Partners led the funding round, which also included backing from Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures, broadcasting partner Warner Bros. Discovery, and Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures. NBA players Trae Young, Franz Wagner, and Moritz Wagner joined on as investors, as did sports exec Sam Rapoport and University of Maryland president Darryll J. Pines.

• These individual backers follow in the footsteps of several prominent athlete investors from the Series A funding round, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, Coco Gauff, Dawn Staley, and Michael Phelps.

First-season recap: Unrivaled tipped off its first season in January with $35M in capital raised and made an estimated $30M in revenue. This was largely thanks to the league’s multiyear TNT deal and sponsorships with heavy-hitters like Sephora, Ally, and Under Armour. As a result, Unrivaled has expedited its five-year plan to play out across three years, with big changes planned for season two.

What’s next: The basketball league is spending its new funds on expanding its exclusively outfitted Miami arena, which will include a new practice court and 150 additional seats. With its ongoing hype and dedicated fan and sponsor interest, Unrivaled expects to generate a profit this season and boost salary and equity for its players.

• Pay will remain at six figures for athletes, who earned an average salary of $222K last season. While all players who signed on in year one received equity in the league, only select athletes will receive it in the future.

The takeaway: Everyone wants in on Unrivaled, but what exactly makes it special? Aside from it being flexible and creative in a space that typically operates on decades of tradition, it’s uniquely built on athlete-centered storytelling, has a shortened format, and is a true hub for player-driven pop culture. Centering athletes is the league’s lifeblood, and that also gives sponsorship deals life.

• In year one, athletes were happy to brag about brands stepping up and outfitting world-class facilities, which likely resonated with women’s sports fans primed to notice sponsors in the space. And that didn’t just benefit brands: Earning impressions also boosted the value for every athlete with equity in the league. Everybody wins.