There’s still more than two months remaining in the WNBA season, but another women’s professional basketball league—Unrivaled—has already secured most of its roster for next season.
Alex Bazzell, cofounder of the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league composed exclusively of WNBA players, told Front Office Sports that the league has signed nearly 90% of its player pool for the 2026 season.
“We have a few spots left open to fill and then we’re pretty much ready to go,” Bazzell said Saturday from Miami as the league hosted the 14 college stars for its The Future is Unrivaled summit.
The percentage includes the six additional players Unrivaled intends to add next year, which will bring the total player pool from 36 to 42. While Bazzell did not reveal the exact number of players signed, around 90% would mean around 35–37 slots have been filled.
Unrivaled will not add more teams in 2026 and will instead include six players in a developmental pool. They will sub in for any injured players throughout the season.
It’s unclear who the new players are coming to Unrivaled next season, if any. Notable WNBA stars who were not part of the league’s inaugural season include Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Kelsey Plum.
Paige Bueckers was also not part of the 2025 season since she was still in the NCAA, though she is expected to join this year. She will reportedly receive more than $350,000 in her first season.
One player who was part of Unrivaled’s inaugural season but will not be in Miami next year is Chicago Sky guard Ariel Atkins. The two-time WNBA All-Star is joining Athletes Unlimited.
More Money for the Players
With the WNBA’s CBA negotiations taking the spotlight, Unrivaled has served as an example of how much women’s basketball players can be compensated without playing overseas.
Unrivaled, which was cofounded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, reportedly paid its players an average salary of $220,000 last season, with no player making less than six figures. The average salary in the WNBA is under $150,000, with the minimum at around $66,000.
Collier told Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe on the podcast A Touch More last week that Unrivaled will raise the salaries for players next season. Bazzell, who is married to Collier, confirmed the salary increases to FOS.
“The numbers are going up because the business outperformed every metric that we had,” Bazzell said. “It’s part of our business model that we built from the ground up, which is that as the business continues to drive more revenue, the revenue is going to get funneled back into the players.”
Bazzell did not confirm how much the average salary would be, though he said the number will increase even though the league is adding six more players.
Unrivaled has faced criticism for a conflict of interest in the WNBA collective bargaining agreement negotiations since Collier and Stewart are also board members of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. However, Unrivaled has maintained that there is none.
