Unrivaled Revenue, Injury Insurance Details from Inaugural Season Revealed

The answers to some pressing questions regarding Unrivaled's first season were revealed on Sunday.

Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Players warm-up before the game between the Mist and the Lunar Owls of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

There's no question that the Unrivaled women's basketball league delivered in many ways during its inaugural 2025 season. Not only was the on-court competition world-class, but the fact that all players were compensated adequately for their effort makes the entire endeavor even more impressive.

Success aside, there were a lot of question marks around the league that remained unclear at the end of the season, particularly how much revenue the league made and how injuries were handled, in terms of compensation.

But in an April 6 article, Front Office Sports women's basketball insider Annie Costabile provided telling answers to these questions.

"The league banked over $27 million in revenue in its first year, according to a league source. The money was likely largely from a lucrative media deal with TNT, plus a blue-chip roster of corporate sponsors. With an average salary of $200,000 for their founding 36 players, the league spent $7 million or more on player salaries," Costabile wrote.

The article also noted Unrivaled plans to improve its bottom line next year by adding more seats in its arena and selling more tickets, as the commissioner of Unrivaled stated the league almost broke even in its first season with the above revenue figure.

Costabile's article later added, "The 36 players across six teams in Unrivaled played a higher percentage of games than in the WNBA, with just six players on each team. Though several well-known players suffered injuries, the league says it had a lower injury rate than the WNBA. Most prominently, Liberty shooting guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton will miss up to six months this upcoming WNBA season following surgery for a knee injury she sustained as a relief player in Unrivaled."

"In year 1, all of Unrivaled’s contracts offered what amounted to injury insurance. If a player were injured and unable to play in the WNBA and collect their salary, the league would pay their WNBA salary. In the case of Laney-Hamilton, if she is suspended by the Liberty—meaning she would not be guaranteed her $185,000 salary—Unrivaled would cover it."

Unrivaled is eyeing profitability as soon as next year after making over $27 million in year one.

Changes coming in year 2 and more from my exclusive with commissioner Micky Lawler and president Alex Bazzell.https://t.co/zVObWJoa9X

— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) April 6, 2025

Unrivaled being willing to cover Laney-Hamilton's salary is a truly awesome gesture, and is yet another reason why this league is receiving universal praise.