Everything We Learned From Unrivaled Opening Weekend

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women’s basketball brainchild of UConn teammates Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, launched its first season over the weekend in Miami. The inaugural group of 36 players (37 including a new signee during another player’s injury) all have an ownership stake in the league.

Its six Basketball Clubs—Vinyl, Laces, Phantom, Lunar Owls, Mist, and Rose—played two games apiece across Friday, Saturday, and Monday. The first three of those clubs have a 2–0 record, and the latter half are 0–2. 

The entire nearly 130,000-square-foot operation exists in the Mediapro North America complex, roughly seven miles from Miami International Airport. The entryway is lined with interactive fan experiences and photo ops. The inside houses the merch store, concessions stand, arena, practice court, weight room, locker rooms, an aesthetician room for facials, training and recovery rooms, a content studio, hair and makeup room, a nursery and nursing area, and childcare rooms.

Here’s what we learned from the league’s opening weekend and what to expect for the rest of the season:

The Arena Is Tiny, But It’s a Cool Atmosphere

Unrivaled recorded sellouts in its roughly 850-person capacity arena on Friday, Saturday, and Monday of its opening weekend. Ticket prices varied, with some fans telling Front Office Sports they spent about $65, and others saying they spent about $400, and traveled from places including Los Angeles, Minnesota, and New York. Fans who haven’t already purchased their seats for a game are now facing mostly several-hundred-dollar resale tickets.

Unrivaled certainly places an emphasis on the in-person fan experience. For example, the league randomly distributes special tickets that award one fan signed merch if the player whose name is on their paper hits the game-winning shot. The entryway Fan Fest is reminiscent of a college football tailgate with a carnival-style shooting game and tables to eat outside in the Miami winter weather.

In its tiny arena, fans are up close with the off-night Unrivaled athletes who are stopping by to watch as well as all the celebrities attending games. Steve Nash, Alex Morgan, Jimmy Butler, Nneka Ogwumike, Kelley O’Hara, and Tobin Heath were some of the big names that attended opening weekend, in addition to a slew of WNBA owners and execs including Liberty owner Joe Tsai.

Opening Night Ratings Weren’t Fabulous

The first Friday night game averaged 313,000 viewers with a peak of 364,000 viewers, and the second game drew an average of 311,000 viewers.

The size of the audience was—by sports terms—small. In the 2023 season, before massive ratings draw Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA, the league averaged 505,000 viewers on ABC, ESPN, and CBS in the regular season. The viewership numbers prove the league has interest with passionate women’s basketball fans, but has yet to catch on with casual ones.

The Friday and Monday night games aired on TNT, and the Saturday games aired on truTV. The league didn’t have to compete with too star-studded of an NBA slate Friday and avoided the NFL Saturday afternoon, but Monday’s games went up against the College Football Playoff national championship.

The Labor Implications Could Be Massive

One of the biggest storylines to emerge from the weekend was Unrivaled’s off-the-court amenities from salaries to childcare to cold tubs, and their comparison to standards in the WNBA. The WNBA players’ association opted out of its collective bargaining agreement in October 2024 and its current deal expires at the end of the 2025 season, meaning Unrivaled falls right in the middle of negotiations. 

Players including Angel Reese, Satou Sabally, and Collier have been outspoken about how the timing of their league puts pressure on the WNBA to step up in the new CBA. “I couldn’t have asked for something better if it was a Hollywood script,” WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told FOS in Miami.

Unrivaled is also going to be a breeding ground for free-agency conversations. Free agent Sabally has already said Unrivaled gives her the opportunity to speak with other players about their WNBA franchises as she weighs her options for next season.

For both the CBA and free agency, it will be interesting to trace the origins of big changes in the WNBA back to the offseason league—like if Sabally or others credit their conversations in Miami with influencing where they sign, or if the WNBA standardizes an Unrivaled amenity like childcare.

The Players Are Loving It

The social media content coming out of Unrivaled, is, well, unrivaled.

“We have certain things contractually where the players do need to amplify, but it’s not even like one one-hundredth of what you’re seeing,” league president Alex Bazzell, who is married to Collier, told FOS ahead of opening weekend.

Reese has been particularly vocal about her love for the facilities, but plenty of other storylines have emerged. Several players have joined an effort to improve Marina Mabrey’s cooking. Courtney Williams was excited about using the sauna with her favorite player, Chelsea Gray. Many have noted the ability to rest between Unrivaled and WNBA seasons, and the opportunity to improve their individual skills while in Miami.

Players are enjoying a domestic offseason setup that pays them well, prioritizes their development, and is both competitive and fun. Their bevy of social media posts provides oodles of authentic marketing and fan engagement for the new league, and reinforces the strong positive perception of Unrivaled—that clearly has a big impact on investors and corporate partners.

Unrivaled Has Money

The referees have Sephora stripes on their arms. The LED screens run floor-to-ceiling, and one extends onto the ceiling. Even the Friday night media dinner was a prosciutto sandwich.

Among its TNT deal, $35 million in investments, and ever-growing list of corporate partners, Unrivaled has solid financial footing that is evident from the in-person experience. And most of that money had been secured before players even showed up in South Florida.

The takeaway? People want to throw money at Unrivaled, and as the season and league unfolds, keep an eye on who signs on.