Athletes Unlimited won’t expand despite WNBA labor unrest

Athletes Unlimited will not expand its basketball rosters this coming season, CEO Jon Patricof said Tuesday, even though the specter of a WNBA work stoppage has led to early commitments from players, with an expectation that a record 70% of its competitors will likely come from the W.

With the WNBA collective bargaining agreement expiring on Oct. 31 — and progress slow on the issues of pay scale, shared revenue and a softer salary cap — W players continue to seek domestic alternatives in case negotiations fall apart. The 3-on-3 league Unrivaled already may grow from six to eight teams this coming season, a year ahead of its original expansion plan, and by adding a possible relief player pool to its six-person rosters, Unrivaled could conceivably employ 50-plus players for 2026.

Athletes Unlimited, however, is content with its 40-player roster, and Patricof said the only change for their four-week season in February is perhaps hiring more WNBA players than usual. Now in its fifth season, Athletes Unlimited is a 5-on-5 league based in one hub (currently Nashville) that pays player salaries believed to be in range of $30,000 to $40,000, plus undisclosed prize pool money based on performance. The four highest-performing players are captains who pick new teams each week, and an individual player wins the overall title (and bonus money) at the end of the season courtesy of a point system.

Fifteen WNBA players have already committed for the 2026 season (although one of them, the Fever’s Sydney Colson, recently tore her ACL), which is earlier roster-building than normal. The league typically likes to have an equal balance of W and non-W players, but many of the remaining 25 to 26 roster spots could go to the established WNBA players.

“We are far ahead of where we’ve been in prior years in terms of the number of players we have signed [for this coming season], and we expect probably over 70% will be WNBA players, which will be up from prior years,” Patricof said. “The focus or criteria of AU is: We want to provide a home for players … that have been in the W or trying to get into the W. So, we always have cast a wide net. But that’s where it’s heading this year.”

Patricof has a solid working relationship with the WNBA, which has broadcast Athlete Unlimited games on the WNBA app. The league has also played games in Las Vegas and Dallas, where it collaborated with the Aces and Wings on cross-marketing and season-ticket member nights. The WNBA has clearly been an Athletes Unlimited advocate — much as it has been for Unrivaled.

But, due to the CBA circumstances, both leagues are a convenient backup for players. Like Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited provides housing/living accommodations for players, transportation, access to weight rooms and other amenities. Athletes Unlimited also encourages players to perform for a charitable cause and donates money on players’ behalf. Isabelle Harrison of the Liberty, for instance, plays for the Lupus Foundation, a condition that has stricken her brother Daniel.

Other WNBA players, besides Harrison and Colson, who have committed to Athletes Unlimited are Alysha Clark (Mystics), Lexie Brown (Storm), NaLyssa Smith (Aces), Odyssey Sims (Fever), Kia Nurse (Sky), Jaylyn Sherrod (Lynx), Ariel Atkins (Sky), Aaliyah Nye (Aces), Te-Hina Paopao (Dream), Kiah Stokes (Aces) and Jacy Sheldon (Mystics).

But even with the roughly 50 players from Unrivaled and 40 from Athletes Unlimited — which accounts for 90 jobs —that’s only half of next season’s WNBA, which will grow to 15 teams and about 180 players.