Unrivaled Basketball League gives Angel Reese, WNBA stars equity in league

Have y’all heard about the new women’s Unrivaled Basketball League? This new league, co-founded by two of the WNBA’s biggest stars, Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, is set to debut in January of 2025, and will feature 3-on-3 competition on a compressed full court with some of the WNBA’s most notable talent. 

Reports broke Wednesday that TNT Sports will broadcast Unrivaled on its airwaves starting with the League’s 2025 tip-off. This makes tons of sense for TNT, who is struggling in court to hold on to its rights to broadcast NBA games after the NBA chose to make Amazon Prime and NBC Universal broadcast partners starting with the 2025-26 season instead of extending what has been a 35-year partnership with TNT/Turner Sports.

In real time, the concept of the Unrivaled Basketball League is a genius idea. With the rise of new women’s basketball stars like the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese and the Indiana Fever’s Caityln Clark, the WNBA reached a new level of recognition and popularity in 2024. According to Forbes, nationally televised WNBA games averaged 657,000 viewers, the league’s highest audience in 24 seasons. 

A great example of this explosion in popularity came on June 23, when the Sky faced off against the Fever. Chicago would go on to defeat Indiana 88-87 in a regular season thriller, and the game averaged 2.35 million viewers on ESPN. It was the most watched regular season WNBA game in 23 seasons.

Reese and Clark made history that night, and both would go on to make history in the WNBA in their debut seasons. Clark won Rookie of the Year honors, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists while snagging an All-Star selection and becoming only the fifth rookie in WNBA history to be named first team All-WNBA. Although her Fever were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Clark surprised many by leading Indiana to its first playoff appearance since 2016.

Meanwhile, Reese would prove to be a true dominant force in the paint, breaking many league rebounding records for rookies and overall. Not only did Reese manage to grab the most rebounds in a single season (446), she set a new league record for most consecutive double-doubles (15), and she recorded the most double-doubles for a rookie with 26. Reese was also selected to be a 2024 All-Star for 2024 for her play, which was enhanced by her undeniable star quality.  

But despite record-breaking attendance and viewership, SportsPro Media reported in July that the WNBA still stands to lose $50 million in revenue this year. That number jumps from the reported $10 million in annual losses the league averaged annually, as stated by NBA commissioner Adam Silver in 2018. 

With its surge of popularity and its pool of new, young talent, the WNBA has a good chance to dig itself out of its financial hole. The revenue that will come from the new TV negotiations is on the horizon and it should provide the chance to pay professional women’s basketball players a substantial amount of more money very soon. 

All things considered, the Unrivaled Basketball league will look to benefit from the WNBA’s recent popularity and vice versa. After all, these lady hoopers are in high demand! Unrivaled has the unique opportunity to expand our view of their skills on the court while giving more chances to highlight their individual star power and personalities. At its start, Unrivaled will consist of six teams with five players each, making a total of 30 players. 

Also making the budding league so special, is its revenue sharing plan, which will see the 30 players participating in the inaugural season getting 15 percent owner equity share in the league. With Unrivaled currently valued at $100 million, that 15% is worth $15 million to players. If Unrivaled follows the same growth trends of the MLB, NFL, and NBA, that number should increase to $66 million by 2035. Not only that, but all salaries will start in the six-figure range, making Unrivaled the top-paying pro women’s sports league in the world from day one. 

While Reese has already confirmed her involvement in the historic inaugural season, Clark has yet to confirm whether or not she will participate. Nearly all of the league’s rosters, 26 out of 30 spots, have been filled, but one can only think that Clark would also jump at the chance to not only compete with the best in her sport, but also get paid top dollar for her talents. 

Still, we can’t be completely sure of Clark’s motivations. After all, she did turn down a chance to play for Ice Cube’s Big 3, an all-mens 3-on-3 league, after he offered her a $5 million contract to play 10 games this past summer. 

As it is, Unrivaled’s star power extends from the court to its investors, which includes a slew of big names in the sports world. Initial investors include US women’s soccer legend Alex Morgan, former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, former NBA MVP and head coach Steve Nash, golfer Michelle Wise West and Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman. 

Filling out the remainder of the 26 women already signed up to participate in Unrivaled include WNBA mainstays and stars such as Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper.

And as the league gets its first turn at the top of sports headlines with news of the TNT deal, its co-founders, Stewart and Collier are currently in a showdown of their own, facing each other in the WNBA finals matchup with the Minnesota Lynx against the New York Liberty. 

No league other than Unrivaled has offered its players an owner equity position, so starting in January we have a chance to see history made in sports in an opportunity that presents these young women a stake in their own business that could change their lives forever. It also sets a new path for those who wish to play women’s basketball professionally and stay stateside during the WNBA offseason, as opposed to having to travel abroad, especially during a time where foreign affairs seem as uncertain as ever. 

Stewart and Collier plan to kick off the first Unrivaled season with a rematch of the WNBA finals, playing each other’s squads in the season opener in the league’s home base of Miami.