Yesterday, the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo announced Sephora Canada as the team’s first founding partner and official beauty partner. It’s a major step forward for sports newcomer Sephora — which recently signed a multiyear U.S. partnership with Unrivaled — as it quickly covers ground in women’s basketball, where the next generation of beauty shoppers is sitting courtside.

On Monday, tennis star Coco Gauff joined a long list of athlete investors backing 3v3 basketball league Unrivaled, which has secured $35M in total funding. Gauff’s investment highlights how WTA athletes have proven to be adept investors across the board.

P.R.O.S. Sports Housing — a company that provides short-term housing for pro athletes — rebranded as Mavrx Sports Housing and announced a new partnership with Las Vegas Aces star Sydney Colson this week. Mavrx is the latest company to enter the WNBA space by teaming up with Colson, who’s been renowned for her marketability.

On Friday, Unrivaled debuted an innovative multiyear partnership with popular beauty retailer Sephora. This is the latest beauty partnership in the women’s sports space, as companies have begun to realize women athletes are the ideal brand marketers thanks to their authenticity and reach.

Per Sportico, Denver beat out competing NWSL cities Cincinnati and Cleveland to secure the league’s 16th franchise yesterday. Investors reportedly paid an expansion fee of $110M, which more than doubles the previous NWSL record and marks the biggest expansion fee in U.S. women’s sports history.

December was a winning month for sports ratings, with the NFL and NBA both benefiting from holiday downtime and marquee broadcasts. While most women’s pro sports leagues were on the sidelines last month, women’s college sports are quickly proving they can also capitalize on prime December viewership.

Netflix pulled off quite the heist on Friday by acquiring the U.S. media rights for the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC). It will be Netflix’s first time covering an entire sports tournament and marks FIFA’s biggest deal with a streamer, not to mention it’s the first time the WWC’s U.S. rights were sold separately from the men’s FIFA World Cup.

On Wednesday, Athletes Unlimited (AU) announced it’s indefinitely suspending its AU Pro Lacrosse league. After jumpstarting opportunities in four sports — softball, basketball, lacrosse, and volleyball — within the past four years, this is the first time the company has suspended operations for one of its leagues.

In recent years, sponsors have talked a big game about increasing their investment in women’s sports, and in 2024, many stepped up. According to Sports Innovation Lab (SIL) survey results released yesterday, brands are boosting women’s sports budgets for 2025 and reallocating sponsorship dollars from men’s sports to women’s.

In addition to sweetening the pot for Europe’s national teams, UEFA has been committed to creating a holistic ecosystem for women’s soccer at the club level. On Monday, the organization shared details around the Women’s Europa Cup, a second-tier club competition hoping to drive domestic investment in the women’s game across Europe.

In a recent SB Nation interview, Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell confirmed the new 3v3 pro women’s basketball league boasts a salary pool exceeding $8M. That’s a $242K average salary for the league’s 33 players (and $222K if all 36 spots are filled), exceeding the WNBA’s current $214K max salary. This doesn’t consider player equity or revenue sharing, which is worth millions.

Rugby star Ilona Maher has steadily built a social media following, and when her talents — and persona — were on full display at the 2024 Paris Olympics, her rising star turned supernova. Since then, Maher’s golden touch has brought increased attention to Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) and, most recently, U.K. rugby’s Bristol Bears.