The new 3-on-3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled announced $28 million in Series A funding Monday from a slew of sports celebrity investors, including Michael Phelps and his wife Nicole, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dawn Staley, and JuJu Watkins.
That’s on top of $7 million already raised in a seed round, bringing total funding in the league to $35 million. Unrivaled also said the funding round raised more than its target.
The Berman family led the round. The family, which runs a credit card lending business, is not related to NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, Unrivaled tells Front Office Sports.
Other prominent investors included Marc Lasry, the billionaire former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Linda Henry, a partner at Fenway Sports Group and the owner and CEO of Boston Globe Media. Henry has invested in the WNBA, League One Volleyball, and the NWSL’s Bos Nation FC. Lasry, who helms the investment firm Avenue Capital Group and its year-old sports investment fund, tried to buy a controlling stake in both Angel City FC and North Carolina Courage of the NWSL this year.
“Based on Avenue Sports’ deep understanding of basketball globally, we believe Unrivaled is well-positioned to thrive in the larger sports ecosystem and we’re proud to back this exciting new league,” Lasry said in a statement. “Unrivaled is setting the standard through their innovative business model at a pivotal time in the growth trajectory of women’s sports.”
All Unrivaled players receive an equity stake in the league, which tips off Jan. 17 in Miami. Three spots remain on its 36-player roster after Kelsey Plum dropped out.
USC star Watkins becomes the third college player to make an official tie to Unrivaled, following UConn’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson. While all three have some stake in the league, Bueckers and Johnson signed NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals, meaning Watkins is the only one who chose the investment route. At 19, she’s also the only one of the three who won’t be eligible to turn pro after this college season. Watkins agreed to a multiyear contract extension with Nike in October for one of the richest shoe deals in women’s hoops, according to ESPN, and also has NIL deals with Gatorade, State Farm, and AT&T.
Unrivaled announced a multiyear deal with TNT Sports in October to broadcast its games on TNT, truTV, and Max. The TV deal is clearly the league’s biggest tool to reach its audience, because it chose to build an 850-person capacity arena for all its games.
When unveiling the media deal, the two sides said TNT Sports made an undisclosed investment in the league. The league tells FOS the media partner’s additional investment is included in the $28 million figure.
Other Series A investors include Amy Banse, the Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund, Threadneedle Ventures, Off Court Ventures, and former and current NBA players Richard “Rip” Hamilton and Joe Ingles, respectively.
