Unrivaled League Earns $650M Valuation & Expands To More Cities

Right now, women’s sports are exploding, and there’s no better example than the Unrivaled league. The 3-x-3 basketball league created by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart announced earlier this week it had received an additional $100M in funding, bringing the total league valuation to $650M.

That doubles its valuation from last year due to a Series C funding round that blew past its initial $100M target. Ten Pillars Sports Fund led this round with investors including longtime UConn coach Geno Auriemma, NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, actor Ashton Kutcher, retired women’s soccer star Alex Morgan and Washington Wizards guard Trae Young.

“I’m a big believer in staying ahead of the curve, staying aggressive, and nothing is off the table,” league president, CEO and co-founder Alex Bazzell told ESPN. “Whether that’s format, cities, where we go next, or who we sign. We want to make sure we are making sound, long-term decisions.”

Unrivaled has not said what cities it will expand to, but says it will play in four times as many as last season, which featured two “offsite” games at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and at Barclays in Brooklyn. Those games sold out, setting a record for women’s sports attendance at Xfinity.

Before the WNBA dramatically upgraded player salaries at the start of its 30th season earlier this year, Unrivaled offered its players six-figure salaries and an equity stake, which Bazell says is now a pot of almost $200M.

Not every player in the eight-team league chose an equity stake.

“Some still value cash a little bit more than equity—there’s always that exchange between agents,” Bazell said. “But I’m really proud of the fact that these players get to learn what it means to be an owner and inevitably make money during their sleep and when they’re in their offseason, or when they’re with the WNBA.”

Bazell also shared that the league is planning to expand to a larger venue in its Miami hub. Right now, Unrivaled plays at the Sephora Arena, which has a capacity of about a thousand. He’s looking to expand to a 2,500-4000 capacity arena for the 2028 season.

Though Unrivaled saw its TV ratings slide in its second season, with games airing on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max, the success of the “road” games may have helped investors see its potential. Unrivaled has no regional teams – its eight teams, including champion Mist, are not attached to any specific city.

The league returns in January when Project B is also expected to launch. The 5-on-5 league has signed retired WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell. Its games will be played overseas, so the only competition right now is for players.

On Thursday, Unrivaled, which says it’s signed over 90% of its players for the 2027 season, announced that Minnesota Lynx player and ‘Studbud’ Courtney Williams will play, along with Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, L. A. Sparks forward Dearica Hamby, Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin, Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud, Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey, who almost set the single-game scoring record this season, Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray and Dallas Wings guard Maddie Siegrist will play next season.

See socail media’s reaction to seeing what Collier and Stewart were able to build below.