{"id":17065,"date":"2025-10-06T03:53:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footwearmagazine.com\/?p=17065"},"modified":"2025-10-06T03:53:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:53:39","slug":"unrivaled-340m-series-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footwearmagazine.com\/?p=17065","title":{"rendered":"Unrivaled Closes $340M Valuation Series B to Redefine Women\u2019s Basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unrivaled<\/a>, the groundbreaking women\u2019s basketball league founded by athletes for athletes, has secured a $340 million valuation with its oversubscribed Series B funding round, cementing its place as one of the fastest-growing sports properties in the world.<\/p>\n

Presented by Samsung Galaxy, a bold, player-first professional women\u2019s basketball league, has officially closed an oversubscribed Series B investment round led by Bessemer Venture Partners<\/a> and joined by such high-impact backers as Serena Ventures<\/a>, Warner Bros. Discovery<\/a>, and Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures, all accelerating the league\u2019s meteoric rise since its debut in 2023. With this funding, Unrivaled announces a new valuation of $340 million, making it one of the most valuable young sports properties, and underscoring both its commercial momentum and its disruptive vision for the business of women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

A Visionary, Athlete-Driven League<\/h3>\n

Unrivaled<\/a> was conceived by Napheesa Collier<\/a> and Breanna Stewart<\/a>, two of the WNBA\u2019s brightest stars, with the singular goal of making athletes true stakeholders and creators, not just talent on the court. The league\u2019s model explicitly gives its founding players and first-season stars equity shares<\/em> in the company, granting them not just unprecedented compensation (with league salaries averaging over $220,000 per year) but also a direct piece of the league\u2019s business success and future growth.<\/p>\n

Rather than sending top talent overseas during the WNBA offseason, Unrivaled offers a world-class, highly competitive U.S.-based alternative with an intense, fast-paced 3-on-3 format<\/a> on a compressed court, designed for television and max fan engagement.<\/p>\n

Structure, Culture, and Expansion<\/h3>\n

Unrivaled launched its inaugural season in January 2025 in Miami\u2019s Wayfair Arena, with 36 players divided into six teams: the Laces, Lunar Owls, Mist, Phantom, Rose, and Vinyl. The league has since become known for its game innovations (including a single-elimination 1-on-1 tournament) and for signing top-tier talent, including Brittney Griner<\/a>, Sabrina Ionescu<\/a>, Angel Reese<\/a>, Jewell Loyd<\/a>, and Paige Bueckers<\/a>, who recently signed a landmark NIL deal to join Unrivaled in 2026.<\/p>\n

For 2026, Unrivaled is expanding to eight teams<\/strong> with two new squads: Breeze Basketball Club and Hive Basketball Club. This expansion brings the total roster to 48 players, with a new development pool to ensure continuity, limit injuries, and provide more opportunities for star and developing talent.<\/p>\n

The Investor Group and Player-First Model<\/h3>\n

With Bessemer Venture Partners<\/a> leading the Series B, Unrivaled raises the bar not just for women\u2019s sports but for sports entrepreneurship as a whole. New backers also include Trae Young<\/a>, Franz Wagner<\/a>, Moritz Wagner<\/a>, Darryll J. Pines<\/a>, Sam Rapoport<\/a>, and Next Legacy Partners, all joining the ranks of original investors like Stephen Curry<\/a>, Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, Billie Jean King<\/a>, Coco Gauff<\/a>, Michael Phelps<\/a>, Ashton Kutcher<\/a>, Marc Lasry<\/a>, and Dawn Staley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unrivaled\u2019s athlete-first philosophy also means that, as the league\u2019s valuation increases\u2014the $340 million figure set after this round- players directly benefit from equity appreciation. This type of model is still rare in sports leagues and is viewed as a game-changer in the movement for long-term financial empowerment of athletes.<\/p>\n

Leadership, Schedule, and Fan Access<\/h3>\n

Alex Bazzell<\/a>, a respected coach and the husband of Collier, serves as Unrivaled\u2019s president, working alongside Commissioner Micky Lawler<\/a> and top executives from across sports and entertainment. Games are broadcast nationally on TNT<\/a> and TruTV<\/a>, with the league\u2019s first year drawing 221,000 U.S. viewers per game, outperforming many established properties. For 2026, Unrivaled will add a fourth night of games per week and avoid back-to-back matchups for player welfare, a first for a North American sports league of this scale.<\/p>\n

Unrivaled is independent of the WNBA<\/a>, allowing for a true alternative in the women\u2019s sports landscape. The next season tips off in January 2026, and fans can catch up with highlights, player profiles, and more by following @UnrivaledBasketball<\/a> and through the official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unrivaled, the groundbreaking women\u2019s basketball league founded by athletes for athletes, has secured a $340 million valuation with…","protected":false},"author":219894228,"featured_media":17765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","pad_hide_post_author":"","csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1408,1,1540,1455],"tags":[3900,2168,3297,3237,2431,1682,3905,3903],"class_list":{"0":"post-17065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"category-news","10":"category-sports","11":"tag-series-b","12":"tag-unrivaled","13":"tag-unrivaled-basketball","14":"tag-unrivaled-basketball-league","15":"tag-unrivaled-league","16":"tag-womens-basketball","17":"tag-womens-basketball-investment","18":"tag-womens-sports-investment","19":"cs-entry","20":"cs-video-wrap"},"yoast_head":"\nUnrivaled Closes $340M Valuation Series B to Redefine Women\u2019s Basketball<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/footwearmagazine.com\/?p=17065\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unrivaled Closes $340M Valuation Series B to Redefine Women\u2019s Basketball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Unrivaled, the groundbreaking women\u2019s basketball league founded by athletes for athletes, has secured a $340 million valuation with…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/footwearmagazine.com\/?p=17065\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Footwear Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/footwearmagazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T09:53:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/footwearmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_8075.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1031\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alyssa J. 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