Unrivaled Hits $340M Valuation, Doubles Revenue Projections

Unrivaled, the women’s professional 3-on-3 basketball league, said Monday it had closed a series B investment round valuing the league at $340 million. 

League president Alex Bazzell declined to share specifics beyond the investors—which were led by Bessemer Venture Partners—but the league’s valuation rose ten times from the spring of 2024.

“Unlike the first two rounds where we were out in the market, this one was organic,” Bazzell told Front Office Sports. “We weren’t searching for more capital. We built a long enough runway to operate without it. But it was the right partner in Bessemer, who is one of the biggest tech funds in the world.

“What I’ve learned from a lot of our great advisors I have is: When you can take the money when you don’t need it, it’s much better when you can go find the money when you do need it.” 

Serena Williams’s fund Serena Ventures was involved in this round of funding, while Warner Bros. Discovery and Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures added to their previous investments in the league. 

The Series B precedes the league’s second season, which is set to tip off in January. Its inaugural season was in Miami last year, with the league’s initial 36 players earning record salaries and equity in the league. 

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Orlando Magic big men Franz and Moritz Wagner also invested in the Series B round.

Absent from this round and the league’s initial investor group are any WNBA or NBA owners. 

The NBA and WNBA did not respond to an inquiry about whether or not league owners were permitted to invest in the 3-on-3 basketball league. 

“We went to the WNBA early,” Bazzell said. “Number one, told them about it and were certainly open to a partnership in terms of equity and ownership. It’s really, to draw the comparison, like what’s gone on between the TGL and PGA. That’s how we looked at it and approached it. We would be the majority investors in control but they still have upside and skin in the game with women’s basketball year round. They chose not to do that.” 

The WNBA and Women’s National Basketball Players Association are currently in negotiations for a new CBA with an October 31 deadline. One source told FOS an extension will likely be necessary to avoid a work stoppage. 

Unrivaled paid its players an average of $220,000 last year, with some earning more, outpacing WNBA pay. A new class of players in 2026 will be highlighted by Paige Bueckers, who signed a three-year deal that includes a first year that pays more than her entire WNBA rookie contract. She is making $78,831 in her rookie season with the Dallas Wings and $348,198 over four years. 

Unrivaled has already signed nearly 90% of its 2026 roster, and is expected to add six new players bringing the pool to 42. The new players will be part of a developmental pool that gives the league much-needed flexibility in substituting for injured players, a major issue last year.

Another puzzle piece for the league is coaching staffs; Bazzell said one head coaching role remains open. WNBA head coaches cannot speak to the league in-season, and Bazzell said that the league was waiting to see which coaches would stay in the WNBA and which assistants would be on the move.

Unrivaled will continue playing the majority of its schedule out of its facility just outside of Miami, though they plan to announce a new city with what Bazzell said would have a “much bigger arena.” Wayfair Arena only sat about 850 fans last year, but changes are expected in season two that could add more seating. 

He added that Unrivaled will never be a fully traveling league. Bazzell said the entire league will not travel for this tour stop. Instead it will be just four of the league’s teams playing a back-to-back weekend slate of games. 

The league has doubled its revenue projections from season one. Bazzell declined to share specifics on player salaries but said “salaries are increasing across the board.”