MIAMI (AP) 鈥 Unrivaled is setting a new standard for women's basketball before one game has been played in the upstart league.
In a word: Salaries.
The by Olympic gold medalists Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart debuts Friday featuring 36 players from the WNBA, ranging from veterans like Brittney Griner to rookie Angel Reese.
Unrivaled has the highest average salary for players of any professional women's sports league with many earning six-figure salaries for the eight-week season. Players in Unrivaled have an average salary of more than $220,000, which is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA.
鈥淲hen it comes to each individual player, I think what we鈥檙e most proud of is they鈥檙e making more here per game than any league in the world," Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell said in an interview with The Associated Press. 鈥淲e want to now set the new standard of what expectation is for pay on the court.
"A lot of these players are making a lot of money off the court, but it鈥檚 that the best athletes in the world are compensated for what they do, which is basketball.鈥
Unrivaled could be a sustainable women's league
Leading up to its launch, Unrivaled raised more than $35 million from various sources and dozens of individual investors, including Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma and Coco Gauff. The league has also secured partnership deals with Ally, State Farm, Wilson, Under Armour, Opill, Miller Lite, Sprite, Sephora, VistaPrint and Ticketmaster to go along with a multiyear media rights deal with TNT Sports. Financial details about the partnerships have not been released.
The games will be played on a smaller court with different rules than players are use to in , including an 18-second shot clock instead of 24 seconds. Bazzell said fans can expect to see exciting professional basketball during the WNBA offseason with games played at a faster pace.
Despite the optimism, there are questions whether Unrivaled's model is sustainable.
Johns Hopkins associate professor of economics Christina DePasquale says Unrivaled has a strong financial base for an upstart league but its long-term viability will be determined by TV ratings and whether the advertisers are willing to come back in year three or four.
鈥淚t looks good right now," she said. 鈥淭hey have a lot of capital, have a lot of co-owners, sponsors who have bought into this who have equity.鈥
Bazzell, who is married to Collier, has said Unrivaled has a salary pool of more $8 million. That salary pool doesn't include equity or revenue sharing payments which all of the initial 36 players have. And with all games being played in Miami at an 850-seat facility, travel costs are minimal which enables the league to pay its players higher salaries. The league itself also provides a viable option that gives players another way to supplement their WNBA salaries during the offseason.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e not here to be kind of a blip in history,鈥 the league president said. 鈥淚 think we we want to be here long term.鈥
鈥楨veryone wants these players to make more money鈥
The league also is working to engage future stars as Unrivaled has NIL deals with Paige Bueckers of UConn and LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson. Bueckers is expected to play in Unrivaled next season.
The timing of Unrivaled's debut comes at an opportune time for WNBA players.
鈥淏eing able to wake up and get the things we deserve," said Reese. 鈥淚t puts pressure on the 鈥榃鈥 especially with the CBA coming up soon.鈥
The of its current collective bargaining agreement a few months ago is currently in negotiations for a new CBA.
鈥淚 think we are going to continue to be kind of the trendsetters鈥 for salaries and benefits, Bazzell said. 鈥淎nd I think you鈥檙e going to see it as well in the WNBA. Everyone wants these players to make more鈥 money.
DePasquale believes that Unrivaled can help the WNBA.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to be a zero sum game. The success of Unrivaled doesn鈥檛 mean that it鈥檚 taking something away from the WNBA,鈥 DePasquale said in a phone interview. 鈥淎 Pareto improvement where the success of Unrivaled can be correlated with the success of the WNBA.鈥
Phoenix Mercury All-Star Brittney Griner agrees.
鈥淯nrivaled is showing that you don鈥檛 need a lot of time to pool resources together,鈥 Griner said. 鈥淏eing happy with what we already have is not gonna fly. ... it鈥檒l definitely put pressure on (the WNBA) to do better.鈥
Personalized chef, childcare option among player amenities
Players say they have enjoyed the amenities Unrivaled has offered during the two weeks that they have been in Miami, including the personalized chef at the arena, the two-bedroom apartments, a glamour room and rental cars.
鈥淯nrivaled is a beacon in the way its made a clear and inspiring business case for centering players and their power as the business,鈥 WNBA agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas said. 鈥淧layers and agents operate as partners and sponsors and have responded because the product is diverse, authentic and ultra engaging. The good news is that the success Unrivaled is modeling is not zero sum. It鈥檚 a template and an invitation.鈥
For the half-dozen parents playing in the new league, Unrivaled has offered stipends as well as a state-of-the-art child care option.
鈥淓very game night, whether you鈥檙e playing or not, the players can come, they can drop their kids off,鈥 Bazzell said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 play, you can go on a date night. We just want to build a family environment."
Though two of best women's basketball players are not playing in the league 鈥 A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, Unrivaled is also benefiting from the name recognition of other top WNBA players participating in the league. Few professional start-up sports leagues have as many recognizable players that Unrivaled will feature when it tips off.
鈥淭his is almost like a superstar league,鈥 DePasquale said. 鈥淭hat certainly will help get people to tune in and continuously tune in. A lot of the other professional league offshoots have become minor leagues in a sense and that鈥檚 not what this is.鈥
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This story is part of the AP鈥檚 Inclusive Journalism Initiative with The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting.
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