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.

Last week, Nike hosted its first-ever Coach The Dream event at its world headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. The goal was to highlight the impact of coaching on the next generation of athletes and discuss how the sports ecosystem can evolve to keep kids in the game through conscientious coaching, which could lessen the gender gap in youth sports.

Project 8 — the company founded by Canadian soccer star Diana Matheson to develop a domestic pro women’s soccer league in Canada — is officially ready for takeoff. Yesterday, Matheson unveiled the new name and branding for the six-team Northern Super League (NSL) with plans for an April 2025 kickoff.

Yesterday, the NCAA Board of Governors and the Power Five conferences voted to settlement terms in House v. NCAA, the lawsuit claiming the NCAA’s pre–NIL ban on student-athlete compensation violated antitrust regulations. The settlement, if approved by the judge, will change college sports’ business model, creating industry-altering shockwaves.

The GIST: Despite a season marked by unprecedented growth for the WNBA, the Washington Mystics don’t have the same level of big-name recognition that’s helping some other teams sell out their arenas. What they do have, however, is a genius marketing strategy.

Much to the chagrin of at least two tennis legends, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) entered a multiyear partnership on Monday. The eyebrow-raising but not unexpected alliance comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that the WTA Finals will be hosted in Riyadh through 2026.

Last Thursday, Parity — a sponsorship platform that connects brands with women athletes — released a study in partnership with SurveyMonkey. The results contain the “most robust” data on women’s sports fans globally, Parity CEO Leela Srinivasan told The GIST.

The WNBA is in its growth era, including its teams and athletes. However, with growth comes growing pains, like this weekend’s news that the Las Vegas Aces are under investigation by the league after every player on the roster signed a $100K local tourism deal.

Newest WNBA franchise Golden State unveiled its team name — the Valkyries — yesterday, just before the season tipped off last night. As the Bay Area team starts to take shape ahead of its debut next year, here’s everything you need to know about its brand rollout.

Basketball Australia (BA) announced plans Monday to sell a majority stake in Australia’s Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL). The sale of the stake — which could be worth at least $13.2M — would give the women’s pro league the tools to level up its game in a way its current governing structure can’t support.

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson finally has the big-name shoe deal to match her on-court success. Wilson is officially Nike’s latest signature athlete after the brand announced Wilson’s apparel collection on Saturday. The cherry on top? The collection features her signature kick, the A’One.

The rumors are true — the WNBA is coming to Toronto in 2026. On Friday, CBC’s Shireen Ahmed broke the news, with an official announcement expected on May 23rd. Toronto’s selection marks a major turning point for W: international expansion.