With rising interest in women’s sports, Unrivaled enters the scene with high salaries, elite training facilities, prominent investors and lots of social media buzz. Brands such as Under Armour and Wilson are among the biggest sponsors, and others are taking note – Unrivaled offers them a chance to tap into new audiences.
Unrivaled Basketball tells a compelling founding story – one in which two former rivals became business partners overnight. The new basketball league was co-founded by WNBA reigning champion and New York Liberty player Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx player Napheesa Collier, who happens to be one of Stewart’s fiercest on-court antagonists. The 3-on-3 format features four seven-minute quarters and a final target score, ensuring every game ends on a basket.
Unrivaled, which takes place at the Wayfair Arena in Miami, FL, and runs until March 17, is designed to be an add-on to the Women’s National Basketball League, allowing players to stay in the US during the off-season instead of playing overseas, which many do, drawn to the appeal of higher salaries.
Now, they’re answering Unrivaled’s call: Having signed a variety of Team USA members and WNBA champions and runner-ups, the league feels like an endless All-Star game. Among the biggest names of the 36 players spread across six teams are Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, or German National Team player Satou Sabally.
Napheesa Collier: “Changing the culture of women’s basketball”
“We’re trying to change the culture of women’s basketball,” Unrivaled founder Napheesa Collier said about the league’s endeavor in one of the post-game press conferences. By that, she’s not only referring to the style of play (“the culture of just like playing in your backyard”), but also to the money at stake: Unrivaled’s $8M salary pool results in an average player salary of $220,000, the highest in women’s sports. An additional one-on-one tournament offers an extra $350,000 in prize money, and players receive equity in the league.
“It’s a chance for players to have upside and ownership in one of the fastest growing sports in the world,” says Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell, who is married to Napheesa Collier, in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung. “We can create a new business model that gives them short-term gains on their salary and long-term gains because of equity.” Ultimately, this could also affect other leagues, especially the WNBA, where salaries are currently renegotiated within the framework of the collective bargaining agreement. “We want these salaries to keep growing because players deserve it,” says Bazzell.
Unrivaled with $35 Million investment
The concept seems to have struck a chord: Leading up to its launch, Unrivaled secured $35 million in funding from investors like Alex Morgan, Coco Gauff, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Michael Phelps.
German basketball player Satou Sabally also praises the infrastructure Unrivaled has created for them. Not just in terms of money, but also when it comes to amenities – the Wayfair Arena is a state-of-the-art facility with a modern weight room, a personalized chef, comfortable housing, and extensive childcare. “We can thrive in the standard they are setting for us. Unrivaled has been top tier in terms of nutrition, training, and recovery, and it would also be a great sign for the WNBA to do the same thing,” she said in an interview with the Orlando Magic while visiting one of their games.
Dedicated media strategy for Unrivaled
The ‘W’ might also closely monitor Unrivaled’s media strategy: The tournament venue seats only 850 people. Instead of wanting to draw crowds to Miami, the league is designed to reach fans on their screens. Unrivaled’s multiyear rights deal with TNT Sports, which amounts to more than $100 million, contains escalators that would pay the league more based on ratings. Moreover, Unrivaled invests heavily in social media content and has a dedicated content creation area. With Adobe Express they have a suitable partner here as the “official fan engagement and content creation app (…). Using exclusive Unrivaled templates, thousands of Adobe creative assets and Firefly generative AI in Adobe Express, every fan can easily express their passion for the game”.
Meeting fans where they’re at is a smart move. A Kantar survey shows that American basketball is extremely popular with Gen Z, and this very generation is highly engaged on social media, especially with video content, creating high ROI for brands. Accordingly, the league’s official Instagram and YouTube channels buzz with video content – and the players are busy posting, too. Players like Angel Reese (4.7M IG followers) or Sabrina Ionescu (1.4M IG) drive engagement through highlights from practice and games, behind-the-scenes content, or photos from the notoriously famous ‘tunnel walks,’ where they show off their pre-game outfits.
Brands like Wilson and Under Armour support Unrivaled
By doing so, they also create ample opportunities for sponsors to shine. The league has secured partnership deals with Samsung Galaxy, Under Armour, Wilson, Morgan Stanley, Sprite, State Farm, Opill, and Sephora, among others. Wilson, naturally, provides the blue and white game ball, while Under Armour serves as the exclusive uniform and performance apparel partner, providing on-court uniforms and the full spectrum of apparel and accessories.
“This partnership with Unrivaled is not only authentic for us as a brand, it will also allow us to tap into new audiences and marketplaces,” says Under Armour’s President of the Americas, Kara Trent, in a press release announcing the partnership.
“Women’s basketball has never been more watched and culturally relevant, and this new platform with these elite athletes provides a tremendous opportunity for us to show off our best product and get exposure in front of new athletes.”
Kara Trent, President of the Americas at Under Armour
They might be making just the right move. Unrivaled comes when women’s sports are on the rise in the U.S., and brands are beginning to barge in. More girls and women are playing sports, driving up demand for content. At the same time, many female athletes have strong personal brands and engage deeply with fans, leading to high social media followings and engagement. A 2024 report from Parity and SurveyMonkey finds that fans of women’s sports are 2.8 times more likely to purchase a product recommended by a female athlete compared to other endorsements. In some markets, the effect is even more pronounced: In Germany, women’s sports fans are five times more likely to purchase a product endorsed by a female athlete compared to anyone else. Moreover, a statistic by the Australian Office for Women in Sport and Recreation indicates that every $1 invested by a corporate sponsor into the visibility of women’s elite sport supports the realization of, on average, $7.29 in customer value for that organization. Now that’s a bang for your buck.
Content strategies need to support Unrivaled
Despite its promising start, Unrivaled must prove its long-term viability in a competitive market where past new leagues have struggled – however, betting on social media and eyeballs rather than the need to fill big stadiums is something that might pay off. “We’re not here to be a blip in history,” Alex Bazzell says. “We want to be here long-term.” For this vision to come to life, the league must keep up its storytelling and work on compelling narratives that go above and beyond the league’s founding story – stories that forge connections between fans and players, both on and off the court. But there’s more to it: Fans are drawn to the drama of competition, and the league’s future success might also depend on creating, yep, unrivaled rivalries, that keep audiences coming back for more.
At the same time, the very brands that helped Unrivaled kick off its successful first season will play a pivotal role in sustaining the league’s momentum. Their continued support – not just through upholding sponsorships and investing in players, equipment and amenities, but also by integrating Unrivaled into their content strategies – will be key to securing Unrivaled’s space in the sports community.
Katalina Farkas is a freelance writer and podcast host based in Berlin, Germany. She specializes in sports, travel, and lifestyle journalism, particularly focusing on women’s basketball. Find her on LinkedIn or reach out via her website.
