What is Unrivaled?

A groundbreaking basketball league which could have a significant impact on the growth of women’s sport is set to get underway in Miami on 17 January.

Unrivaled has been set up by players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier as a domestic option during the WNBA offseason. The regular WNBA season runs from May to October, with players often forced play in Europe, China, Australia and Russia for the rest of the year to make ends meet. 

Not only does this mean players must compete all year round without a break, increasing the chance of injury, but they are sometimes put in unsafe situations. Brittney Griner was arrested and imprisoned for ten months in Russia as she entered the country to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, having inadvertently left vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her luggage.

Unrivaled allows WNBA players to remain in the US during the offseason, play elite-level basketball and still manage to get adequate rest in between the two competitions.

Set to be played in a 3×3 format on a full court, the two-month league involves six teams of six players, including stars such as Stewart, Griner, Sabrina Ionescu and Angel Reese. 

It will be broadcast in the US on TNT Sports from a purpose-built, 850-capacity venue. The intimate setting is intentional – the emphasis is on creating the perfect conditions for broadcast, maximising media coverage and viewership.

The rest of the facilities are world class. Players will be able to make use of a 3,000-square-foot weight room, a recovery area equipped with hot and cold tubs and a ‘glam room’ for beauty treatments. Other amenities include family rooms, a nursery, a nursing room, a content creation hub and six luxury locker rooms. 

“I would stay here forever,” said Reese ahead of the league’s opening weekend. “Everything I need is here – from massages to cold tubs, to being able to have resources, to workouts and everything.”

Most importantly, Unrivaled aims to provide the highest average salaries in women’s team sport. All players will earn at least six figures, and the average salary is reportedly set to be around $250,000. 

Participants also receive equity stakes in the league, promoting a player-centric ownership model. Other investors include a range of sport stars, including Coco Gauff, Megan Rapinoe, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Phelps. According to Stewart, the league already has enough funding to last for at least three years.  

Unrivaled is certainly set up for success. It may end up not only revolutionising women’s basketball, but the entirety of women’s sport.

What will the impact of Unrivaled be on women’s sport?

Women’s basketball in the US is already on a meteoric rise, helped by players with star power such as Caitlin Clark.

While Clark has decided not to sign with Unrivaled, instead choosing to keep a low profile during the WNBA offseason, interest in women’s basketball in the US is at an all-time high and this brand-new league is poised to capitalise.

With games broadcast on major channels, the league will offer women’s basketball more exposure than ever, potentially attracting new fans and sponsors to the sport. Players will also have a better chance of building personal brands and attracting commercial opportunities if they are in the public eye in the US all year round, rather than disappearing to play in another country for a significant period.

There are likely to be ripple effects throughout all of women’s sport because of these developments in women’s basketball. Elevating the visibility of basketball players can be a catalyst for broader interest in the entirety of women’s sport, creating greater recognition and opportunities for all female athletes.

In addition, Unrivaled’s highly competitive salaries and state-of-the-art facilities set a new standard for women’s sport, which may prompt – or even force – other leagues and organisations to raise their standards to a similar level.

What is so interesting about Unrivaled is that it is a competition set up and owned by women’s basketball players to address issues they feel need tackling – low wages, inferior facilities and a lack of options to play in the US during the WNBA offseason.

While this phenomenon is likely only possible within the American sports model, female athletes around the world will take inspiration from this approach to solving longstanding issues in women’s sport, particularly if Unrivaled is a big success.