Players on the Unrivaled’s championship-winning team to get additional $50,000
The inaugural Unrivaled playoff race just got a bit sweeter.
Unrivaled announced Friday that each member of the championship-winning club will receive an additional $50,000. The extra pay bump fits into their ethos as the most equitable league in professional women’s sports.
“This builds on the highest average salaries for professional women’s team sports and equity Unrivaled offers players, as well as the $350K total prize pool for the Unrivaled 1 on 1 Tournament presented by Sprite,” the organization said in a press release.
A 3-on-3 basketball league founded by WNBA All-Stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesia Collier, Unrivaled has been the toast of the sports world as of late due to players’ salaries and equity stakes. Luminaries from rap superstar Gunna to Golden State Warrior Jimmy Butler to Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash have attended an Unrivaled game while the list of investors include NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and 2023 U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff. The result has been one of the most unique experiences to date.
“It’s what matters. It should always be about the players,” Butler told TNT reporter Ros Gold-Onwude on Jan. 20, later adding, “The fact that they’re running their own league and owning it at the same time is very special and very unique. So I want everybody to continue to do that and have equity in everything. Own it, and grow it.”
From the intimate, electric Wayfair Arena to the compound that includes everything from practice courts to workout facilities to childcare, Unrivaled has built a product that will surely challenge the status quo of not just the WNBA but all women’s sports in the coming years.
“It’s just an exciting time for women basketball in general with just the trajectory that we’re on,” the Phantom’s Natasha Cloud said. “This is another elite level to keep us home stateside and be adequately paid to do so.”
Added Collier: “We worked really hard to make this an entertaining product,” she said. “We have the best players in the world and we want to do them justice. We want to expose everyone’s talent and put them on display.”
The playoffs, which run March 16-17, will be a single-elimination game with the top four teams. Three spots – Lunar Owls (No. 1), Rose (No. 2) and Lace (No. 3) – have already been clinched. The fourth spot will go to either the Mist or Vinyl, both of which have a record of 5-8.
Monday night will feature a matchup between the Lunar Owls and Mist as well as the Vinyl and Rose. A win for either the Mist or the Vinyl will secure the respective playoff appearance. If both teams win, the spot will be determined first by head-to-head record followed by record against playoff clubs and finally season point differential. Those factors all being equal, the spot will ultimately come down to a coin flip.
