Unrivaled offers the highest salary in women’s sports history

The GIST: Unrivaled — the 3x3 pro women’s hoops league launched by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier — rolled out some game-changing announcements yesterday. The league confirmed an oversubscribed seed round of all-star investors, which enables Unrivaled to offer a six-figure salary that will be the highest in pro women’s sports league history. Banked it.

The league: Launching in January 2025, Unrivaled will be a six-team, 3x3 women’s basketball league featuring 30 players (including 10 WNBA All-Stars) competing in an eight-week season. Stewart and Collier announced the league last summer, and it should become an attractive offseason option for WNBA players that will also further the popular 3x3 format.

• Unrivaled will uniquely offer equity stake to players, which chief brand officer Kirby Porter notes is “in line with the mindset of today’s athletes.” She also said the league will heavily invest in original digital content to capitalize on the NIL influencer buzz that’s been migrating to the pros.

The backers: Unrivaled is gaining traction as a worthwhile investment among seasoned athlete-investors. Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Michelle Wie West have all recognized the business opportunity, along with two key industry titans: Former ESPN president John Skipper and former Turner president David Levy will lead media rights and sponsorship talks.

The calendar: Unrivaled is slated to play from January until March, which could overlap with Athlete Unlimited’s (AU) four-week season that tipped off in late February this year. Aside from AU overlap, Unrivaled comes well before the WNBA’s May through October season and 3x3 basketball league BIG3’s 10-week stint from June to August.

• These dates actually give Unrivaled an edge over Ice Cube’s BIG3, which is designed to coordinate with the NBA offseason, not the WNBA’s. You do have options, Caitlin.

Zooming out: As the WNBA flourishes, so will the entire women’s basketball ecosystem. Overtime Select launches its high school league this weekend, AU’s 5-on-5 tournament keeps growing each season, and Unrivaled will offer an unparalleled salary. Keep an eye on how unique game formats outside college and the W interact with each other — and where players land.