Ex-WNBA Champions’s Desperation for a 3-Day Payday Equal to Her WNBA Salary Goes Up in Smoke at Unrivaled

Napheesa Collier wasn’t kidding when she said the new league was going to help players better their game and make that money. The minimum six-figure sum in salary was just the start of it! In crowing the best one on the field, Unrivaled kept aside a hefty sum equivalent to a top few’s WNBA salary. Now that latched in more than a few names. For Kahleah Copper, a former WNBA champion with a resume that shines as the championship rings on her fingers, that was a tempting invite.

Copper, notorious for her love of catching Z’s, had her eyes wide open when she saw the tournament’s jaw-dropping $350,000 prize pool. Can one really blame a player for loving her sleep and the money? The winner’s share alone was a handsome $200,000! A sum that eclipses the average WNBA salary and makes your head spin. And then there’s the comparison: Copper’s own WNBA salary last year was a cool $250,000, a number that’s eerily identical to the tournament’s top prize.

So, when asked what was her motivation to throw her hat into this high-stakes ring, her response was refreshingly candid. “The money,” Copper said with a hint of “duh!” – as if the question was self-explanatory. “Let’s just be for real”. No sugar coating, no beating around the bush. Just a straightforward admission that, at the end of the day, it’s all about the benjamins.

Though Kahleah Copper’s hunger for victory was palpable, it wasn’t enough to save her from a crushing 11-5 defeat at the hands of Allisha Gray. The loss brought a disappointing end to Copper’s tournament journey, and her hopes of securing a lucrative payday slipped through her fingers. However, we cannot ignore that even Copper’s blunt remark says a lot about the state of women’s basketball.

The WNBA’s financial situation is bleak. The league has been generating $60 million annually through media deals, which is similar to how much Stephen Curry will alone be making in 2025. The W has also been operating at a loss, losing $10 million each year. Moreover, per reports, only about 40% of the revenue reaches owners and athletes, while the NBA pockets 40% and the investors also take a cut.

This financial struggle has long forced WNBA players to seek opportunities abroad. Enter Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. “Because a lot of players probably my age and a little bit older are so accustomed to going overseas……And now it’s like, no, you play WNBA. You come to Unrivaled and we’re gonna take care of you. We’re gonna pay you. We’re gonna make sure you continue to build your brand,” Stewie told CBS.  

As the women’s basketball landscape continues to evolve, it’s clear that Unrivaled is living up to the expectations it had set. But will that be enough to ensure the long-term viability of the league?

A bold bet on women’s basketball by Unrivaled

The league has established itself as a game-changer, offering the highest average salary for players in any professional women’s sports league. The W stars have the chance to earn six-figure salaries for the eight-week season. But Unrivaled’s impact goes beyond just financial rewards. The league has also prioritized supporting its players’ needs, offering stipends and state-of-the-art childcare options for the half-dozen parents playing in the league.

To achieve that, Unrivaled’s financial foundation appears solid, with over $35 million raised from various sources and dozens of individual investors, including prominent figures like Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, and Coco Gauff. Additionally, all 36 initial players have equity and revenue-sharing payments. The league’s decision to host all games in Miami at an 850-seat facility also minimizes travel costs, allowing for higher player salaries.

Furthermore, Unrivaled has secured impressive partnership deals with major brands like Samsung, Ally, State Farm, Wilson, Under Armour, Opill, Miller Lite, Sprite, Sephora, VistaPrint, and Ticketmaster. And has signed a multiyear media rights deal with TNT Sports, providing a stable platform for broadcasting its games. Yet, despite these many signs of optimism, questions remain about Unrivaled’s long-term viability.

As per Christina DePasquale, Johns Hopkins’ associate professor of economics, while the league has a strong financial base, its sustainability will depend on TV ratings and advertiser support in the coming years. “It looks good right now,” she said. “They have a lot of capital, have a lot of co-owners, sponsors who have bought into this who have equity.”

There’s no doubt that the league is marking a groundbreaking shift in the way women’s sports leagues reward their talent. And taking from what DePasquale had further said, we hope “the success of Unrivaled can be correlated with the success of the WNBA.”