As rumors swirl of a possible star-powered addition, Unrivaled is expanding its roster.
Minnesota Lynx star and Unrivaled cofounder Napheesa Collier announced the upcoming 3-on-3 women’s basketball league will expand its rosters from 30 to 36 players after the league beat early financial forecasts. Collier’s husband, Alex Bazzell, is league president.
“We exceeded our financial projections, which means we get to expand sooner than expected and offer more spots to deserving players in Unrivaled,” Collier said in a video posted to X/Twitter. “Women’s sports are in an amazing moment, and we’re incredibly grateful for the support that has helped make this possible.”
The league, which will begin play in January 2025 in Miami—during the WNBA’s offseason—has landed multiple WNBA stars, including Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum, and announced Fever forward Aliyah Boston as its 30th participant shortly after Collier’s post.
As Front Office Sports reported earlier this month, Unrivaled is set to make Clark a seven-figure offer that includes equity in the league. Clark is now “leaning 60/40” toward accepting the offer, Sports Business Journal reported Thursday. The addition of multiple spots makes room for league MVP A’ja Wilson to join, too.
“We’ve exceeding expectations in the revenue model that have allowed us to expand roster spots, which is what we’ve always wanted to do,” Bazzell told Front Office Sports. We’re just able to do that in year 1, which is exciting.”
Unrivaled has a broadcast agreement in place with TNT, and the players are reportedly set to earn six-figure salaries and have equity in the league. It is supposed to serve as an alternative to WNBA players spending the offseason playing overseas to help compensate for WNBA salaries that pay players such as Clark $76,535 despite being the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Bazzell downplayed the rumors of a Clark addition on Thursday, telling Sportico, “We’re always going to have a roster spot for Caitlin Clark. We’re not applying a full-court press the way people think. … She knows that we have a spot for her when she’s ready.”
