Will Caitlin Clark join Unrivaled? Explaining new basketball league featuring Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and more | Sporting News

There is a new professional league coming to women’s basketball this offseason.

For decades, women’s basketball stars had to take their talents overseas once the WNBA season ended to make a decent wage. Now, fans will be able to watch their favorite WNBA players compete in the United States in the offseason, thanks to the “Unrivaled” start-up league ignited by superstars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.

What is the Unrivaled, how will it work and who is participating? The Sporting News takes a deep dive below.

MORE: How Kahleah Copper stepped up to help Team USA capture gold in Paris

What is Unrivaled women’s basketball league?

Unrivaled is a new 3×3 women’s basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Its inaugural season will tip off in January 2025 in Miami.

Unrivaled will give WNBA players an offseason league in the United States so they don’t have to play overseas to make a decent wage as a professional basketball player.

“The league is also setting a record with the highest average salaries in women’s sports history. All 30 initial players will receive equity ownership,” per the Unrivaled website.

On Oct. 31, Collier announced that the league will house 36 players, not 30 as initially planned.

A special announcement from our co-founder 🚨

We’re expanding to 36✅ pic.twitter.com/HaAKUn30gA

— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) October 31, 2024

With unprecedented salaries and ownership share for the players, Unrivaled is another example of the exploding interest in women’s basketball.

MORE: Why does Caitlin Clark have a butter sculpture of herself?

Unrivaled rules, explained

Unrivaled is a 3×3 league that will be played on a “compressed full-court” of 70×50 feet.

Games will be four quarters with a game clock and a shot clock. There will be six teams of five players. Each team will have two subs, a head coach, an assistant coach and a team manager.

The six teams will play in a round-robin schedule and the top-four teams will advance to the playoffs. The season will include eight weeks of total play, including the postseason.

Unrivaled will also feature a 1v1 single-elimination tournament played in February to determine the best 1v1 player in the world. League co-founder Collier recently revealed on X that the winner of the 1v1 tournament will earn a massive grand prize of $250,000 “minimum.”

MORE: Inside U.S. women’s basketball’s stats from 61-game Olympic winning streak

Will Caitlin Clark join Unrivaled? 

Unrivaled is trying to recruit Caitlin Clark to its league, Front Office Sports reported on Oct. 17.

After her Rookie of the Year season with the Fever, Unrivaled is trying to get the star to join some of her WNBA peers with a “Lionel Messi-like” offer similar to Inter Miami CF’s successful bid to sign the Argentine star, which included partial ownership and broadcast revenue sharing. Unrivaled could offer Clark a $1 million salary, equity in the startup league and revenue sharing, Front Office Sports reported on Oct. 23.

Clark would be a massive addition for the league, as she’s helped spark an increase in TV ratings in the WNBA. She could do the same with Unrivaled, which recently earned a media rights deal with TNT Sports, in its inaugural season. During a previous Q&A on X, league co-founder Collier sparked some speculation about the WNBA star’s participation in Unrivaled.

A user asked Collier for a hint on the number of rookies playing in the league. Collier responded with a GIF of Snoop Dogg holding up four fingers, leaving fans excited about the potential of Clark’s inclusion as one of the four.

WNBA star Angel Reese has already been confirmed as one of the rookies, and Collier spoke highly of Reese’s decision to play from a business standpoint.

Angel is ✨a business woman✨& knows the power of ownership. This is the one investment as basketball players we can control. Angel is part of this group that’s bringing in a ton of viewership, she should have long term upside in the growth of basketball! Plus we’re in Miami… https://t.co/0vSii4tF7Q

— napheesa collier (@PHEEsespieces) August 9, 2024

Las Vegas Aces rookie Kate Martin, who is one of Clark’s best friends, also hinted that she might be joining the league in an interview. With the league expanding to 36 players instead of the 30 initially planned, that offers even more opportunity to Clark to join Unrivaled’s corps.

Unrivaled will continue to recruit Clark, but it remains to be seen if she’ll officially take up an offer.

MORE: Will Caitlin Clark earn a spot on Team USA’s 2028 Olympic roster?

Unrivaled players confirmed

Unrivaled has been doing an awesome and entertaining rollout on its X page to announce the inaugural season’s participants. The social media account has tweeted GIFs or hints to tease the next player announced, revealing the league’s talent one by one.

You can find an updated list of confirmed players for Unrivaled’s inaugural season below.

Additionally, UConn star Paige Bueckers is expected to join a team after signing an NIL deal with Unrivaled.