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Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has decided not to play in Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league, according to Michael Voepel. Clark’s decision not to accept an offer is a big blow for the upstart organization cofounded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.
Unrivaled, which has been years in the making, is set to tip off in January. The new league, which announced the rosters for its six teams on Wednesday, was created to offer WNBA players an alternative to going overseas during the offseason.
“For a long time, going overseas was the only option that people had in their offseason, and so this is kind of changing the narrative around that and giving another option,” Collier said earlier this year. “Overseas is a great option for some players, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you can do to make money and play basketball and get better.”
Unrivaled reportedly put together a “full court press” to try and convince Clark to join, which included a salary north of $1 million for the eight-week season. While it’s still unclear exactly why Clark said no, she just completed a grueling run in which she played an entire NCAA and WNBA season in less than 12 months.
With Clark reportedly out, the league will now turn its attention elsewhere to fill its last two spots. The initial plan was to have 30 of “the top professional players in women’s basketball,” but on Oct. 31, Collier announced the league “outperformed our financial projections,” allowing them to expand the initial season to 36 players. Only 34 players have been confirmed thus far, however.
Opening night is set for Jan. 17 and the season will last for eight weeks, with games on Monday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Even though the league is 3-on-3, it will be played on a (slightly smaller) full-court with four seven-minute quarters. A full set of rules has not yet been released, but Collier said it will look like “normal basketball with more spacing.” In addition to the league games, there will be a 1-on-1 tournament in February with a $250,000 prize for the winner.
While exact salaries were not disclosed, each player involved in the inaugural season will make a minimum of six figures and receive equity in the league.
“Women’s sports is on such a rise, and it feels like everyone is benefiting from that except the women in the sport, and obviously that’s something we’re trying to change and then also create generational wealth for these women,” Collier told “We Need to Talk” last year. “From the beginning, [Stewart] and I really set out to create a league that was founded on that principle that players deserve compensation and ownership that reflect their value.”
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