Unrivaled, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league founded by stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, advertises itself as an additive offseason solution for top players who don’t want to go overseas to supplement their income. Unrivaled’s relationship with the WNBA continues to grow more complex, though, amid the W’s acrimonious collective bargaining negotiations.
The WNBA’s prioritization rule is a sticking point.
Seattle Storm guard Gabby Williams has long been critical of the policy, which under the current CBA threatens a full-year suspension for players who fail to report to the start of training camp regardless of commitments elsewhere. Williams recently said the WNBA’s stance puts it in opposition to leagues such as Unrivaled, the winter competition heading into its second season.
Unrivaled’s inaugural campaign finished on March 17, while this year’s WNBA training camp began April 27. But those dates are not set in stone going forward. With expansion teams on the way for the WNBA, a longer regular season could come closer to clashing with the 3-on-3 division. The prioritization discussions during recent CBA negotiations has made some players feel like the league is trying to undermine Unrivaled and other alt-leagues.
“That’s a WNBA business decision at the end of the day,” Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said in a phone interview. “I think it would be pretty short-sighted to move and think that way based on what we’ve done in the ecosystem, and quite honestly, the success we’ve proven in Year 1 alone.”
Bazzell’s comments followed Williams suggesting the W doesn’t like Unrivaled while speaking last week on Sarah Spain’s Good Game podcast. The All-Star forward has contemplated not playing in the WNBA if she’s not adequately compensated for the additional games being added in an expanded season.
“Maybe I won’t be in the [WNBA] if I get a much better offer from Unrivaled or another team overseas,” Williams said. “I think a lot of players are thinking about that.”
Bazzell maintains he’s only had positive conversations with WNBA team owners and league officials about Unrivaled, and he says that any animosity toward his venture would be news to him. “That’s a question that the WNBA would be a little more equipped to answer,” he said.
But Bazzell does acknowledge the complexities, including team owners’ concerns about players arriving to training camp on time and healthy in April. Unrivaled also provides leverage to the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) during current labor talks. The basketball executive walks a delicate line as both Unrivaled president and husband to Collier, who serves as both a co-founder and a vice president on the WNBPA’s executive committee.
Collier’s double roles have been criticized by some as a conflict of interest, with her and Stewart, also a vice president on executive committee, publicly defending their positions recently. While Collier and Stewart are both in CBA meetings, reviewing proposals from the union and the league, Bazzell said that he has no insight into the negotiations as it is a private matter between parties.
“I’ll certainly know what players are thinking, because I live with one of them,” he said. “But it’s never been a thought or concern that the WNBA is trying to push us out.”
The most recent proposals sent to the WNBPA include various labor limitations, according to a source familiar with the ongoing negotiations, most notably requiring players to prioritize the WNBA season, which likely will be extended, even if it overlaps into schedules of alternative leagues or offseason overseas campaigns.
WNBA management and labor are grappling over how to distribute a sudden influx of league-wide revenue, with the game surging in popularity and commercial opportunities. Additionally, WNBA team values have exploded, up 180% year-over-year to an average of $269 million in Sportico’s WNBA valuations.
But the reality is that most teams still lose money, and the losses will likely continue into the next CBA. Owners and other stakeholders want players to be fully committed to the WNBA season to ensure owners can cover the increased expenses—including the charter flight plan that costs $25 million a year—and investments, such as building standalone practice facilities.
Teams will get a bump in 2026 from the new TV deals, which are expected to generate an average of $260 million a year, but not all central revenue trickles down to the clubs. NBA owners own 42% of the league, and the 2022 investment consortium owns 16%.
The WNBA did not return requests for comment.
Unrivaled, which plans to increase players’ salaries next season, made its presence known during All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis last month. The league hosted its own pop up filled with various activations while announcing marketing deals with current college stars, including USC’s JuJu Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts.
Bazzell says he’s focused on building the best business possible, signing players to multi-year deals as he patiently waits to see what happens with labor talks. He’s embracing the uncertainty while Unrivaled tries to future proof itself against any external factors.
“We operate based on what the information is today,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for us to guess how the CBA unfolds. We’re always going to be adaptable to do what we need to do to deliver success.”