Stewie & Collier Starting WNBA 3-on-3 Pro League

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Love the initiative and the reason for it. Hope it expands well.

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New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier told ESPN they are founding a new women's basketball league to give the top WNBA players an option to play domestically in the offseason once the league's new prioritization rules go into full effect next season.

The new league, called Unrivaled, would run from January through March and feature 30 of the top professional women's players on six teams, playing games of 3-on-3 and one-on-one at a soundstage in Miami.

The goal is to raise enough in private funding and sponsorships to provide the players commensurate pay with what they make during the WNBA season. That would help offset the lucrative contracts they'd be giving up overseas because of new league rules requiring players to return from international commitments by the start of WNBA training camps.

The WNBA's prioritization rules, which were part of the 2020 collective bargaining agreement, mandate that players return from overseas by the start of training camp to be eligible for the season. The overseas season often runs through mid-May, which conflicts with the start of the WNBA season.

https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/37969895/breanna-stewart-napheesa-collier-start-us-based-league-wnba-offseason

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For years, many WNBA players have gone overseas in the winter months to compete and supplement their WNBA incomes. That option has become even more tenuous since the WNBA’s prioritization rule went into effect this year, fining players with over two years of WNBA experience if they did not report to their teams by May 1. In 2024, the consequences are much steeper: Players will be suspended for the season if they are not present by the start of training camp, according to the clause written into the league’s CBA.

“It’s the ability for players to stay home, to be in a market like Miami where we can just be the buzz and create that with the best WNBA players,” Stewart told ESPN. “We can’t keep fighting [the WNBA’s prioritization rule]. It is a rule that takes away our choices, which should never be a thing, especially as women, but it is still a rule.”

One of the biggest benefits of players competing in the WNBA and Unrivaled is rest. For the first time, top professional players who wish to earn an income through basketball in the winter won’t be forced to balance two full-season leagues and a 12-month schedule. With the start of WNBA training camp in April and the completion of the season in September, Unrivaled and WNBA competitors will have three months from October, November and December to rest their bodies.

Unrivaled plans to invest in content creation and brand visibility, giving its players an opportunity to market themselves during the WNBA offseason and grow their individual brands year-round.

The league could also be in a unique position to lure top college players out early with substantial contracts compared to WNBA rookie salaries, which currently fall within the range of $65,000 to $74,000 annually.

https://justwomenssports.com/reads/wnba-stars-found-new-offseason-league-as-overseas-alternative/

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[cupcakesnake]

Definitely an interesting idea.
I haven't watched much 3-on-3 and am wondering about the marketing and gaining an audience. With women's basketball having more emphasis on tactics, and the horizontal part of the game; I could see 3-on-3 women's exceeding the popularity of 3-on-3 men's (though that's not a very high bar, I'll admit!). Without knowing much about the current 3-on-3 landscape, or Athletes Unlimited, to have much insight here! But I'm definitely interested in this unique development.

Having Stewie- the best player in the world- as part of it, is a great start.

[They_Them_Hatin]

Didn’t know there was a W forum on here!

This is so dope! The W is so dated in marketing these ladies. Top 15 in the league all have a decent following.
Stewie, Napheesa, & Chelsea
Then you add both Kelsey’s, A’ja, Arike, Jackie, Jewell, Allisha, Rhyne, Sabrina, BG, Nneka, Aliyah.

[They_Them_Hatin]

Definitely an interesting idea.
I haven't watched much 3-on-3 and am wondering about the marketing and gaining an audience. With women's basketball having more emphasis on tactics, and the horizontal part of the game; I could see 3-on-3 women's exceeding the popularity of 3-on-3 men's (though that's not a very high bar, I'll admit!). Without knowing much about the current 3-on-3 landscape, or Athletes Unlimited, to have much insight here! But I'm definitely interested in this unique development.

Having Stewie- the best player in the world- as part of it, is a great start.

They have an audience. Especially the top players in the league. The lack of investment, corruption, misogyny, awful Tv deal, dumb CBA, lack of expansion, marketing and products/jersey unavailability is why the W is struggling.

If you actually look at the ratings for their games that come on ESPN vs NBA games, it’s half the ratings. ESPN pays them 25 million and the NBA 1.5 billion. People talk about the NBA’s revenue increasing but they slap their brand on anything. Only major partnership besides Nike the W has is Tervis. Jerseys are always sold out and never any creative designs with the merchandise. No throwback merchandise for old teams. They can actually partner with a factory to design merch and have jerseys available for fans to buy . With the current strike going on, they should have no problem finding someone to air the games. Plus I can see a lot of players investing in this.

[MrDollarBills]

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Love the initiative and the reason for it. Hope it expands well.

I've been out of the loop the past few days, but this is amazing news. Whatever can be done to keep WNBA players from having to play overseas in potentially hostile countries (especially towards LGBTQ women) should be done.

[MrDollarBills]

Didn’t know there was a W forum on here!

This is so dope! The W is so dated in marketing these ladies. Top 15 in the league all have a decent following.
Stewie, Napheesa, & Chelsea
Then you add both Kelsey’s, A’ja, Arike, Jackie, Jewell, Allisha, Rhyne, Sabrina, BG, Nneka, Aliyah.

Welcome it's a slow process but hopefully the WNBA board will grow as the league continues to rise up

[They_Them_Hatin]

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Love the initiative and the reason for it. Hope it expands well.

I've been out of the loop the past few days, but this is amazing news. Whatever can be done to keep WNBA players from having to play overseas in potentially hostile countries (especially towards LGBTQ women) should be done.

This is such perfect timing. I just found out they can opt out of their CBA after next season. The tv deal expires next season too. The owners were very stubborn with the last CBA. I’m sure they used the looming pandemic and countries closing over their heads to make them sign an awful deal. Now the top players in the league can play at home in the offseason and can negotiate a better CBA. The sad thing is, if the player/owner revenue sharing was actually fair, these ladies could enjoy their off season. They got 9% last year.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Love the initiative and the reason for it. Hope it expands well.

I've been out of the loop the past few days, but this is amazing news. Whatever can be done to keep WNBA players from having to play overseas in potentially hostile countries (especially towards LGBTQ women) should be done.

This is such perfect timing. I just found out they can opt out of their CBA after next season. The tv deal expires next season too. The owners were very stubborn with the last CBA. I’m sure they used the looming pandemic and countries closing over their heads to make them sign an awful deal. Now the top players in the league can play at home in the offseason and can negotiate a better CBA. The sad thing is, if the player/owner revenue sharing was actually fair, these ladies could enjoy their off season. They got 9% last year.

It sucks to high hell that they have to go through this now, but hopefully 20 years from now the next generation won't have to.

Hopefully a new TV deal will increase revenue and visibility. More games on national television will go a long way.

[cupcakesnake]

This is such perfect timing. I just found out they can opt out of their CBA after next season. The tv deal expires next season too. The owners were very stubborn with the last CBA. I’m sure they used the looming pandemic and countries closing over their heads to make them sign an awful deal. Now the top players in the league can play at home in the offseason and can negotiate a better CBA. The sad thing is, if the player/owner revenue sharing was actually fair, these ladies could enjoy their off season. They got 9% last year.

So do you view this primarily as an attempt to gain some leverage? Or that it's at least some part of the thinking? Creating a platform for the worlds best basketball talent that isn't controlled by the W?

[Doctor MJ]

This is such perfect timing. I just found out they can opt out of their CBA after next season. The tv deal expires next season too. The owners were very stubborn with the last CBA. I’m sure they used the looming pandemic and countries closing over their heads to make them sign an awful deal. Now the top players in the league can play at home in the offseason and can negotiate a better CBA. The sad thing is, if the player/owner revenue sharing was actually fair, these ladies could enjoy their off season. They got 9% last year.

So do you view this primarily as an attempt to gain some leverage? Or that it's at least some part of the thinking? Creating a platform for the worlds best basketball talent that isn't controlled by the W?

I think that's a true thing about what's going.

I also think this represents American women looking for an alternative to going in playing in foreign countries in the aftermath of the Griner incident in Russia...and I think that's wise.

Re: CBA. I'm no expert but my sense is that the NBA deciding to take over American pro women's basketball was a double edged sword. It helped ensure a continuity that pro women's basketball has never had in the US, and there are many benefits to that. At the same time, it prevents the women's pro league from growing organically which makes the notion of "profitability" murky.

In the end, no one had a choice in this except the NBA. Once the NBA decided to create the WNBA, no direct rival in the US stood a chance, and from that point onward it was basically a given all serious female basketball players in the country would play in the WNBA, with all that came with it.