Unrivaled Valued at $650M After Latest Funding Round, Players Own 30%

Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league founded by Alex Bazzell alongside WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, announced a Series C funding round that values the company at $650 million, according to Front Office Sports. The round closed with more than $100 million in new capital.

The valuation represents a near-doubling from September, when the league closed a Series B at $340 million. The Series C was led by Ten Pillars Sports Fund, backed by UC Investments, with reinvestments from Carmelo Anthony, Geno Auriemma, Trae Young, Alex Morgan, and Trybe Ventures, per the reporting.

The structural feature distinguishing Unrivaled from traditional professional sports ventures is its player ownership model. The portion of Unrivaled owned by players amounts to nearly $200 million, approximately 30% of the company, per Front Office Sports. The player equity pool has increased 550% since Unrivaled launched. All 36 players who signed in the first season received an ownership stake, and Bazzell stated that at least 95% of the league's players hold equity in some form. Every player was offered equity; those without a stake chose cash compensation instead. All player equity stakes carry a four-year vesting period.

Unrivaled guaranteed six-figure salaries for all players when the WNBA minimum was under $70,000, according to Front Office Sports. Sabrina Ionescu, who played only in the inaugural season, retains the option to determine how to use the equity she earned.

The league faced audience headwinds in its second year: TV ratings declined after a strong first season, prompting a strategic pivot. Unrivaled secured two sold-out tour stops at NBA arenas in Brooklyn and Philadelphia and is planning around eight tour stops in 2027. The league plays most games at the 1,000-seat Sephora Arena in Miami but will move to a larger venue by 2028. Bazzell guaranteed the league will never operate a 15,000-seat home arena.

Context for the valuation: the Connecticut Sun, the most recent WNBA franchise sold, went for $300 million earlier this year. The Golden State Valkyries rank as the highest-valued WNBA team at $1 billion, according to CNBC projections released in May. Unrivaled says it has signed more than 90% of its roster for 2027, with recent signings including Olivia Miles and Gabby Williams. Bazzell stated the league has already secured most of its roster for the next two to three seasons.

Unrivaled faces direct competition: Project B, a new global basketball league co-founded by former WNBA star Alana Beard, is scheduled to launch in January and run around the same time period as Unrivaled. Project B has signed WNBA stars Nneka Ogwumike and Jonquel Jones, as well as former Unrivaled players Kelsey Mitchell and Alana Smith. Bazzell stated that Project B is focused on international play while Unrivaled's competition is domestic.