Fourteen of the top women's NCAA basketball players have signed NIL deals with Unrivaled, the professional 3x3 league announced Saturday, July 19, ahead of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game. The list of players includes Lauren and Sienna Betts, Olivia Miles, Hannah Hidalgo, Audi Crooks, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, as well as MiLaysia Fulwiley, Flau'Jae Johnson, Ta'niya Latson, Kiki Rice, Syla Swords, and JuJu Watkins.
The move is a major one for Unrivaled, which will enter its second season in January 2026. The new players will also participate in a multi-day summit called The Future is Unrivaled between July 31 and August 2.
The relationship between the two leagues has been a hot topic for months, and conversation has reached a bit of a fever pitch during the league's All-Star events. While speaking to reporters Thursday, Unrivaled's president Alex Bazzell said that a lot of the speculation has come as a surprise.
"It’s funny we’ve laughed about it because we’ve never once looked at this as a competitive tool towards the WNBA," he said. Bazzell also emphasized that there are "so many positives" from both leagues existing, and added, "I’m hopeful that they come to a CBA agreement, and play resumes next April, and for us, we’re not going to change anything we do based on what happens in those conversations, so the conflict of interest has never really made sense internally."
WNBA GMs aren't as sure about Unrivaled
Despite those positive feelings, not everyone seems to agree. In May, one WNBA GM speaking anonymously to CNN put blame for an increase in preseason injuries squarely on the new league. "They were surprised by the intensity, duration and amount of practices," one person told ESPN — and writer Kendra Andrews noted that "multiple" GMs admitted too many injuries "could hurt our league" if it means players aren't available during the WNBA season.
There have also been questions about whether the existence of Unrivaled presents a conflict of interest. The league was founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, of the Lynx and Liberty respectively.
"I just see ourselves as such an additive to the space that it’s always confused us why people would think that it’s a conflict of interest," Bazzell also said Thursday night. In reference to Collier (who is also his wife), and Stewart, Bazzell added, "If anything, there’s no one who’s more equipped to sit at that table than Napheesa or than Breanna because they’ve been through all the negotiations of media rights and sponsorships."
That this topic hasn't been raised before is likely due to the fact that Collier and Stewart are well known for their long-time advocacy for women's basketball, equity in the WNBA, and the pursuit of greatness for as many women as possible. The idea that either could operate in bad faith is difficult to even begin to debate, let alone give any degree of seriousness.