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The first season of Unrivaled was one of the boldest commercial experiments in women’s basketball, offering players higher pay, better standards and equity stakes.
In last year’s inaugural campaign, the player-led, three-on-three basketball league claimed to have the highest average salary in women’s team sports history, amassed an impressive roster of sponsors and reportedly delivered revenues of more than US$27 million. The league has now set its sights on achieving profitability as soon as 2026 and added two new teams for this year.
Having tipped off on 5th January, Unrivaled’s sophomore season arrives at a pivotal moment for women’s basketball amid ongoing negotiations around the Women’s National Basketball Association’s (WNBA) next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and broader questions about the sport’s next phase of growth.
The investors
Unrivaled was co-founded in 2023 by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Notable early investors include former ESPN president John Skipper and David Levy, the former president of Turner. Current and former athletes like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Michelle Wie West, Billie Jean King, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Phelps are also among those backing the league.
While the players are the majority equity holders in Unrivaled and its teams, the competition raised US$35 million across seed and Series A funding rounds ahead of its first season. Backers included prominent sports investors like Marc Lasry and his Avenue Sports Fund, and Fenway Sports Group’s (FSG) Linda Henry. Two-time tennis Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff is another high-profile investor.
Unrivaled was valued at US$340 million last September after closing an oversubscribed Series B investment round led by private equity firm Bessemer Venture Partners. Other notable investors in the round included tennis legend Serena Williams through her Serena Ventures venture capital firm. Previous investors Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Morgan’s investment vehicle Trybe Ventures returned for the round.
The latest valuation is a dramatic rise from September 2024 when Unrivaled was valued at US$95 million, according to CNBC.
Broadcast arrangements
Unrivaled’s commissioner Micky Lawler said ahead of tip-off last January there was a “a lot of competition” for the league’s domestic broadcast rights before WBD won the race to broadcast the competition, inking a deal which Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reports is worth US$100 million over six years.
Games that take place on Fridays and Mondays will air on TNT and TruTV, while also being streamed on HBO Max. Saturday and Sunday games will be available on TruTV and HBO Max.
For international viewers, Games are available to watch via Unrivaled’s YouTube channel.
WNBA rookie of the year Paige Bueckers is among the new player additions to Unrivaled in 2026 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Sponsorship overview
Unrivaled has secured the backing of multiple blue-chip sponsors. Samsung Galaxy is the league’s presenting and official technology partner, Ally is the official banking and founding partner, and Under Armour serves as official uniform and performance outfitter.
In addition, State Farm is the official home and auto insurance partner, Miller Lite is official beer partner and Panini is exclusive trading card partner. Other brands to have signed on include Sprite, Morgan Stanley, BodyArmor, Wilson, VistaPrint, Icy Hot and Opill.
New sponsors for 2026 include PwC, which will be presenting partner of the league’s practice studio, official salty snack partner Cheez-It, and official sports nutrition partner Thorne. Maker’s Mark has also been named official spirits partner and Xfinity has become official internet, mobile services and entertainment partner.
An expanded deal for the new season will see beauty partner Sephora take on naming rights for the league’s home base in Miami.
Unrivaled’s player-first content strategy and facility have also created more sponsorable assets for brands. This has already seen Samsung provide devices to capture content throughout the season, while Sephora outfits the ‘glam room’ with its beauty products.
The venues
Unrivaled played its entire 2025 campaign at Wayfair Arena, a bespoke facility in Miami. Built inside a production studio, the court is about 75 per cent as big as a traditional five-on-five court and has 850 seats surrounding the floor.
While it has a modest capacity, the arena is designed to entertain millions of viewers and have a strong focus on video content. It features large LED boards adorning the walls – rather than the usual jumbotron hung in the centre – and a rail cam positioned in the front row, ensuring action can be captured from closer range.
Extra cameras are also present around the baseline and backgrounds. Unrivaled took inspiration from Madison Square Garden when deciding how it would light its playing area.
“It’s like a stage,” said Vinyl BC player Rae Burrell last year. “It’s not very big, but I kind of like that, because then it’s just kind of more intimate for the fans.”
For the first time this year, two games will be held in Philadelphia this season on 30th January, with both taking place at Xfinity Mobile Arena, home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Philadelphia Flyers.
What else is new for 2026?
Breeze BC and Hive BC have joined Unrivaled this season, bringing the total number of teams in the league to eight.
Unrivaled is also debuting a development pool of six WNBA players who will remain on site throughout the campaign and be available to any team in case of injury or absence. The six can play for multiple teams throughout the season.
League officials hope that setting up a development pool at the start of the season will make it easier to find available players, while also giving prospects a pathway to train and develop.
Unrivaled has added young star power from the WNBA for 2026, including 2025 rookie of the year Paige Bueckers, as well as Cameron Brink, Kelsey Mitchell, Dominique Malonga, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen. Several notable names will not return, including Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu. Collier will miss the season due to injury.
Reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark – who ranked seventh in SportsPro’s latest list of the world’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes (50MM) – declined to participate for a second straight year.
What next?
Uncertainty for the 2026 WNBA season remains while a new CBA is negotiated. Collier said on the opening day of the Unrivaled campaign that a “deal’s going to get done” but reiterated that WNBA players would be “standing firm in what we believe in”.
The WNBA and the players union (WNBPA) have twice agreed to extend the deadline for CBA talks. The latest extension expires on 9th January.
While Collier has said players won’t be backing down, her husband and Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the league partnering with the WNBA in the future.
“We’re not in constant dialogue about that … but as I’ve made very clear, we are open to growing the ecosystem, whichever way that looks like,” said Bazzell. “Nothing is on the table or off the table. … I’m not going to speculate what could happen down the road, but everyone knows our door is always open.”
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