MIAMI (AP) \u2014 Unrivaled is setting a new standard for women\u2019s basketball before one game has been played in the upstart league.<\/p>\n
In a word: Salaries.<\/p>\n
The 3-on-3 league<\/a> by Olympic gold medalists Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart debuts Friday featuring 36 players from the WNBA, ranging from veterans like Brittney Griner to rookie Angel Reese.<\/p>\n Unrivaled has the highest average salary for players of any professional women\u2019s sports league with many earning six-figure salaries for the eight-week season. Players in Unrivaled have an average salary of more than $220,000, which is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to each individual player, I think what we\u2019re most proud of is they\u2019re making more here per game than any league in the world,\u201d Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell said in an interview with The Associated Press. \u201cWe want to now set the new standard of what expectation is for pay on the court.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of these players are making a lot of money off the court, but it\u2019s that the best athletes in the world are compensated for what they do, which is basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n Unrivaled could be a sustainable women\u2019s league <\/p>\n Leading up to its launch, Unrivaled raised more than $35 million from various sources and dozens of individual investors, including Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma and Coco Gauff. The league has also secured partnership deals with Ally, State Farm, Wilson, Under Armour, Opill, Miller Lite, Sprite, Sephora, VistaPrint and Ticketmaster to go along with a multiyear media rights deal with TNT Sports. Financial details about the partnerships have not been released.<\/p>\n The games will be played on a smaller court with different rules than players are use to in the WNBA<\/a>, including an 18-second shot clock instead of 24 seconds. Bazzell said fans can expect to see exciting professional basketball during the WNBA offseason with games played at a faster pace.<\/p>\n Despite the optimism, there are questions whether Unrivaled\u2019s model is sustainable.<\/p>\n Johns Hopkins associate professor of economics Christina DePasquale says Unrivaled has a strong financial base for an upstart league but its long-term viability will be determined by TV ratings and whether the advertisers are willing to come back in year three or four.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks good right now,\u201d she said. \u201cThey have a lot of capital, have a lot of co-owners, sponsors who have bought into this who have equity.\u201d<\/p>\n Bazzell, who is married to Collier, has said Unrivaled has a salary pool of more $8 million. That salary pool doesn\u2019t include equity or revenue sharing payments which all of the initial 36 players have. And with all games being played in Miami at an 850-seat facility, travel costs are minimal which enables the league to pay its players higher salaries. The league itself also provides a viable option that gives players another way to supplement their WNBA salaries without having to play overseas<\/a> during the offseason.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re not here to be kind of a blip in history,\u201d the league president said. \u201cI think we we want to be here long term.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Everyone wants these players to make more money\u2019<\/p>\n The league also is working to engage future stars as Unrivaled has NIL deals with Paige Bueckers of UConn and LSU\u2019s Flau\u2019Jae Johnson. Bueckers is expected to play in Unrivaled next season.<\/p>\n The timing of Unrivaled\u2019s debut comes at an opportune time for WNBA players.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing able to wake up and get the things we deserve,\u201d said Reese. \u201cIt puts pressure on the \u2018W\u2019 especially with the CBA coming up soon.\u201d<\/p>\n