Unrivaled’s planned venue in Miami will see every game played in a single 850-seat production studioUnrivaled
Warner Bros. Discovery’s media rights package with Unrivaled, the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league that launches in January, is a guaranteed three-year deal with a three-year WBD option that could take the total six-year value to approximately $100M, sources told SBJ.
Unrivaled’s planned venue in Miami is also part of the story-telling upside for TNT Sports, sources said, considering every game will be played in a single 850-seat production studio, creating an environment similar to the 2020 NBA bubble in Orlando. The facility will even have a childcare center for the handful of mothers playing in the league, and a hospitality room for families.
So far, 26 of the 30 total roster spots are spoken for, but the league is still hoping it can lure WNBA rookie-of-the-year Caitlin Clark or perhaps even league MVP A’ja Wilson into the fold. Several sources believe Wilson will not consider committing unless Clark does, while league President Alex Bazzell — the husband of Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier — told SBJ last week that Unrivaled has already made a “historic offer” to Wilson and will eventually make one to Clark.
“We don’t know if it’s going to work out for this year with A’ja,” Bazzell told SBJ last week. “We’re excited to keep her close to us, keep her informed. Obviously, [co-founders] Breanna [Stewart] and Napheesa have good relationships with A’ja, they’re teammates of hers at USA [Basketball].
“And then with Caitlin, what we’ve always tried to do with every player, you have to treat them with the cards that they’re dealt. She’s been through the last year and a half probably more mentally and emotionally than any women’s athlete’s been through, as far as anyone can remember. So we haven’t had that firm dialogue or firm offer just yet. We are going to make that offer. It’s going to be a historic offer, but we’re giving her time to mentally escape basketball before we sit down and have that conversation. But one way or another, I think this league’s built for the stars, and I think we can move the needle forward in a different way for those stars and give them upside long term, too.”
