Jodi Kain – The resurgence of women’s basketball has been front and center in the news, driven by standout athletes like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, throughout the excitement of the 2023 and 2024 NCAA Women’s March Madness Championship tournaments. Now a new headline is emerging: the launch and initial success of a unique professional women’s league based locally in Miami, Florida. Founded in 2023 by women’s basketball icons Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, the Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League is a professional women’s basketball league featuring thirty-six athletes across six teams, composed of both veteran and rookie women’s basketball superstars. The players compete in fast-paced three-on-three games on a compressed full court. Unrivaled is completely separate from the Women’s National Basketball Association (“WNBA”), and takes place in the WNBA offseason, from mid-January until mid-March.
Unrivaled signed a star-studded roster of women’s basketball players for their inaugural 2025 season, including Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Jewell Loyd, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Arike Ogunbowale, Jackie Young, and Aliyah Boston, along with many others. Notably absent are three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson and 2024 WNBA Rookie of The Year Caitlin Clark. Unrivaled also signed Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) deals with women’s college basketball and social media stars Paige Bueckers and Flau’jae Johnson. Unrivaled’s growth appears inevitable: after wrapping up their inaugural season just months ago, Paige Bueckers, also the #1 draft pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, is reportedly poised to sign a three-year deal with Unrivaled Basketball.
By raising $35 million of capital and almost breaking even in its first year of business, Unrivaled has achieved significant investor and brand deal success. The league has secured notable partnerships with makeup giant Sephora, sportswear brand Under Armour, beer company Miller Lite, financial services company Ally Financial, and media rights deals with TNT Sports. It has also received investments from star athletes Stephen Curry, Michael Phelps, and Coco Gauff, as well as celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, and renowned women’s college basketball coach Dawn Staley.
A notable difference between Unrivaled Basketball and the WNBA, beyond their format, is the salary and opportunity for players to have a stake in the company. Unrivaled’s average salary is approximately $220,000 for ten weeks of play, compared to the WNBA’s $120,000 for a fourteen-week season. While the WNBA offers athletes a revenue sharing agreement—estimated in 2018 to provide players with less than 25% of the WNBA’s total revenue, compared to the approximately 50% revenue share offered to players in the National Basketball Association (“NBA”)—the WNBA notably does not offer players equity. While restructuring player compensation is something the WNBA has said they will address in their next Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, one of Unrivaled’s key selling points is its offer of a collective approximate 15% equity stake in the league to players, a benefit that prominent women’s basketball players like A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Brittney Griner have been advocating for since 2018.
An equity partner is an individual who holds an “ownership stake in a business” and, as a result, shares in the profits. Officers and directors of companies generally have many legal responsibilities and fiduciary duties to the company they serve, including the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. Yet, equity partners generally do not have fiduciary duties to their company unless they have some sort of significant control over the company as a controlling or majority partner. Controlling partners may have certain fiduciary obligations, including avoiding direct competition with the business. Notably, Unrivaled is a limited liability company (“LLC”) registered as a foreign LLC in Florida, where its games are played. LLCs are a common business structure that combine the tax benefits of a partnership with the limited liability protections of corporations. In LLCs, equity partners are called “members.”
As Unrivaled offers players the ability to become equity partners as part of its compensation package, questions may arise about whether dually signed players—with Unrivaled and the WNBA—face potential conflicts of interest. With their small equity shares—approximately 15% collectively—it is unclear whether Unrivaled athletes have a say in the governance, operations, or control of the company, which depends on the applicable laws and the individual company’s bylaws. However, as Unrivaled grows, the likelihood of competition with the WNBA for television deals, sponsorships, and even players may increase—along with the potential for conflicts. While Unrivaled and the WNBA are not currently stepping on each other’s toes—having agreed to a licensing deal that allows players to sell Unrivaled merchandise featuring their name, image, and likeness—the situation could change as the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement approaches expiration. This impending negotiation may force dually signed athletes to confront potential conflicts arising from their unique positions as Unrivaled equity partners. One thing is for certain: women’s basketball fans will be tuned in.
