3 things WNBA could learn from Unrivaled's inaugural season, explained

[RandySF]

Providing higher salaries (and equity) for all players

From the jump, Unrivaled made clear that player compensation was foundational to everything. The league offered players an average salary of $220,000 for less than three months of basketball — in comparison, the WNBA’s average salary in 2024 was around $120,000, despite the length of annual league commitment being twice as long.

Unrivaled also promised all players to earn at least $100,000, while the WNBA’s minimum salary was around $64,000 in 2024 (and a superstar like Caitlin Clark earned just over $76,000 in her rookie season).


Ensuring all WNBA teams have childcare centers

It’s an unsurprising answer considering the prominence of Unrivaled’s childcare services since the league’s launch. Unrivaled has hired a nanny service to watch players’ kids during games and other obligations, and the arena itself has a childcare center comprised of multiple rooms filled with toys and other activities for the kids. At least 8 Unrivaled players brought their kids to the facilities.


Generating more engaging social media content leaning on players’ brands

From the beginning, a major part of Unrivaled’s objective was to elevate players’ brands during the WNBA offseason. As such, the league focused on producing original content centering players — both on and off the court — on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms. In all, Unrivaled-owned and earned content across league and club accounts as well as fan conversation generated 589.1 million social media impressions, the league reported Thursday.



https://www.sbnation.com/2025/3/21/24390194/wnba-unrivaled-offseason-breanna-stewart-napheesa-collier-angel-reese-player-salaries-social-media

[ProfessorGAC]

1. I Buy That

And, they are making a profit so far. Not a lot, but they're not losing money & it's only year 1.
I think the product would be better on a smaller court. There's no way to cover that much real estate with 3 people.
Taller, longer armed NBA players couldn't cover all that with 3 players.
There's not much defense played.
Maybe that better sells the league. I don't know. Maybe I'm being too technical in my observations.

[RandySF]

2. I was just happy to see my favorite players in the offseason.