WNBA Stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier Announce a New Basketball League — With Six-Figure Salaries and Equity for the Players
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WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier have created a league of their own.
The two athletes have spent much of Thursday promoting Unrivaled, a new women’s basketball league that will debut in January 2025. The league will feature 30 of the sport’s best players and the games will take place in Miami.
Stewart spoke about Unrivaled on Thursday on “Good Morning America,” and revealed the league will offer players six-figure salaries, stating the average salary will be the largest in any women’s basketball league globally. What’s more, Stewart said all 30 players will have equity in the league.
The league will run from January through March. “In a typical women’s basketball [player] life, you play in the WNBA and you go overseas, and there’s a seven month gap where our W players aren’t home, in market,” Stewart said on “Good Morning America.”
The games will be full-court in 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 formats, and the court will be smaller — roughly two-thirds of what they play on in the WNBA. In an Instagram video posted in July 2023 discussing the league, Collier stated, “You get to see [the best players] playing more offense, doing what they do best and why they became the best that they are. I think it’s going to be highly entertaining.”
On “Good Morning America,” Stewart said she couldn’t reveal the names of the players, however she did reveal some have played in WNBA All-Star Games.
In another video on Instagram, Stewart said funding for the league is now closed. Unrivaled shared a list of its high-profile investors, which includes soccer stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Steve Nash, actor Ashton Kutcher and UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, among several others.
Stewart is a Puma athlete and wears looks from her Stewie signature shoe franchise, and Collier hits the court in Nike. Prior to turning pro, the two were college teammates at UConn. Stewart plays for the New York Liberty in the WNBA and Collier plays for the Minnesota Lynx.
About the Author
Peter Verry is the Senior News and Features Editor for Athletic and Outdoor at Footwear News. He oversees coverage of the two fast-paced and ultracompetitive markets, which includes conducting in-depth interviews with industry leaders and writing stories on sneakers and outdoor shoes. He is a lifelong sneaker addict (and shares his newest purchases via @peterverry on Instagram) and spends most of his free time on a trail. He holds an M.A. in journalism from Hofstra University and can be reached at peter.verry@footwearnews.com.
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