• Loading stock data...
Friday, August 8, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Unrivaled Adds Sabrina Ionescu As More Salary Details Emerge

The average salary will reportedly be north of $200,000, and it apparently took much more than that to lure the Liberty star.

Sabrina Ionescu
The Record

Sabrina Ionescu will join Unrivaled for its inaugural season, the league announced Monday.

The WNBA champion fills the final 36th spot on the league’s roster spot, meaning months of creative social-media hints across Unrivaled’s social channels have come to an end. (Not all 36 players will be active; Cameron Brink is on a team, but she’s still recovering from an ACL tear and is set to join her team on the court in 2026, along with Paige Bueckers.)

She will join her New York Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart, a league cofounder with Napheesa Collier, in Miami this winter. The season begins Jan. 17.

Ionescu’s Unrivaled deal is significantly higher than what other players signed to play in the league, ESPN reported. The 3-on-3 league would not say how much Ionescu will be paid, but it was prepared to offer Caitlin Clark seven figures—more than the six-figure deals other players reportedly signed. All players receive equity in the league alongside their salary.

The league recently announced $35 million in total funding, and between that and a multiyear TNT deal, the players are getting paid. ESPN reported Monday the league’s 36 players will share an $8 million salary pool, which would make the average salary more than $200,000. That would be on the high end of the WNBA pay scale, for an eight-week season that requires no travel. The WNBA season typically takes place from May to October. (Both leagues give players free housing.) The Liberty pay Ionescu $205,030 per year, which makes her the league’s 14th-highest-paid player.

Unrivaled drafted players onto its six basketball clubs in November, with a small number of wild-card spots remaining. Ionescu joins Phantom BC, whose players include Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally (Ionescu’s former Oregon teammate), and Katie Lou Samuelson. The team will be coached by Adam Harrington, a former NBA player and coach who most recently served as a Nets assistant from 2016 to 2022.

Ionescu is one of the most popular players in the WNBA, and her addition immediately raises the profile of the league. She has one of the most-worn shoes in the NBA this season, according to Nick DePaula. She’s also a big ratings boost: NBA All-Star Saturday night viewership reached its highest level in four years in 2024, peaking with 5.4 million viewers during the three-point competition between Ionescu and Stephen Curry.

For a league that couldn’t land Clark and lost Kelsey Plum, Ionescu is a great addition for a fan favorite point guard. And the pickup is music to TNT Sports’ ears after the broadcaster both signed a media deal with and invested in the new league.

Ionescu had a poor showing in the end  of the WNBA Finals, and it was later revealed she had played through a high-grade UCL tear on her shooting hand that she sustained in Game 4. Ionescu had surgery on her thumb Dec. 6 and was expected to be out for about four weeks, putting her return just before the start of Unrivaled’s season.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

WNBA Struggling to Prevent Repeat Dildo Incidents

The league appears to have no answers to the copycats plaguing games.
NC State

NC State ‘Cardiac Pack’ Team Loses NCAA Suit for NIL Back Pay

The 1983 team was among college basketball’s greatest Cinderella stories. 
WNBA

Crypto Group Says It’s Behind WNBA Dildo Epidemic

The group backs a memecoin that launched last week.

Featured Today

Inked Under Anesthesia: Athletes Getting $50,000 Tattoos

High-end studios, elite artist teams, and hours under anesthesia.
Coco Gauff at New York Liberty
August 2, 2025

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Las Vegas sign
July 29, 2025

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.

LAFC’s Record Son Deal Brings Global Buzz and Local Pride

Los Angeles has the largest Korean community in the country.
Apr 6, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Marc Leishman (center) celebrates with his teammates after winning the final round of the LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Doral.
August 7, 2025

Trump Golf Courses Secure 2026 Stops on LIV, PGA

For the fifth consecutive year, LIV golf returns to a Trump course.
DiJonai Carrington
August 7, 2025

This WNBA Trade Deadline Could Be League’s Last Snoozer

A new CBA could give GMs more flexibility.
Sponsored

Hottest Matchups Following NFL Schedule Release

The NFL released the 2025 regular-season schedule, and anticipation is already building in the ticket marketplace with four months to go.
August 7, 2025

More Dildo Throwing During WNBA Games Leads to Second Arrest

The 18-year-old threw a dildo that hit another fan and his young niece.
August 7, 2025

Smelling Salts Not Banned in the NFL, but Teams Can’t Hand Them..

Teams are banned from supplying smelling salts to their players.
August 6, 2025

US Open Breaks Prize Money Record, Still Leads All Grand Slams

The total 2025 US Open prize money is $85 million.
Diana Taurasi
August 6, 2025

Diana Taurasi Warns Against WNBA Work Stoppage 

Taurasi saw several key negotiations in her legendary career.