More professional women’s basketball players will be able to stay in the United States to play during the WNBA offseason.
Unrivaled, a 3×3 league founded by WNBA All-Stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier in 2024, will increase in size from six to eight teams and add a practice pool. That will increase the number of roster spots from 36 to 54, the league announced Wednesday, Sept. 10. The two new teams will be called Breeze BC and Hive BC.
‘Expanding a year earlier than planned is a testament to the strong business model we’ve built and the potential Unrivaled has for long-term success,’ said Luke Cooper, Unrivaled president of basketball. ‘We outperformed every goal we set for the league in year one, and with the incredible talent we have returning paired with the influx of new stars, it was a no brainer to add two more clubs this season.’
ESPN reported that Unrivaled made $30 million in revenue its inaugural season, double what league officials had projected. The league averaged 221,000 viewers on TNT and truTV during its first season, with Rose BC’s victory over Vinyl BC drawing 364,000 viewers.
Unrivaled announced on Monday, Sept. 8, that it has been valued at $340 million after a second round of investment led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Serena Williams’ venture capital company Serena Ventures, Warner Bros. Discovery and Trybe Ventures. NBA players Trae Young, Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner, sports executive Sam Rapoport and University of Maryland president Darryll J. Pines also invested.
Unrivaled players earned an average of $222,222 and received equity in the league. Salaries will be in the same range for 2025 by only select athletes will receive equity, decided on a case-by-case basis as contracts are negotiated.Unrivaled plays an an eight-week season from January to March in Miami. Rosters for the 2025 season will begin to be unveiled later this month.