How Unrivaled Is Redefining What Investment in Women’s Sports Looks Like

Ally’s partnership with the Unrivaled Basketball League is more than just a logo on a jersey. It’s a blueprint for what it looks like when brands treat women’s sports as an equal and equitable counterpart.

Betting on the vision

In the summer of 2024, Ally Financial became the first Founding Partner and Official Bank of Unrivaled, a player-owned, full-court 3-on-3 women’s professional league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. The company signed on before there was a finished venue, a broadcast deal, or even a full roster announced.

“We felt that we could do more,” said Stephanie Marciano, Head of Brand and Sports Marketing at Ally. During a private press conference with Blavity in attendance, Marciano explained how the sponsorship aligned with its long-standing mission to validate the vision of women’s sports, a commitment the company has upheld since 2018.

She continued, “It’s not just buying rights and doing sponsorships, but to step back and say, ‘What is holding back this industry? What are the biggest barriers to the growth of women’s sports?’ A lot of us are former athletes at Ally, so we had a little bit of a head start in understanding those barriers. And all the insights were telling us that the disparity in media was what was holding women’s sports back. The fact that 90% of media was spent on men’s sports and only 10% was spent covering women’s sports. How could an industry thrive if it only has 10% of media coverage?”

Ally’s early backing and committed media spend helped Unrivaled secure a broadcast partner in TNT Sports. The move was part of the bank’s larger, years-long investment in media equity within women’s sports. In 2022, Ally launched its 50/50 media pledge, committing to equal spending on men’s and women’s sports media. The pledge was designed as an accountability model, not a campaign slogan.

“It was about getting better time slots for women’s sports, growing the storytelling and the narratives. And it basically gave us tremendous purpose. The work was providing societal impact. And it’s so meaningful to our brand, to our employees, to our team, all the way up to the board of directors, because again, it’s doing more than just marketing our brand. It’s about having real impact, building brand love, and it’s tremendous for our business as well,” said Marciano.

Unrivaled’s debut season in 2025 delivered numbers that challenged the persistent myth that women’s sports lack an audience. The league averaged 221,000 viewers on TNT and truTV across the season, reaching 11.9 million total viewers.

Building fandom through digital storytelling

Much of that growth can be attributed to Unrivaled’s digital-first approach and storytelling strategy, which leverages social media as its primary engine for fan engagement. The league has generated more than 589 million earned and owned social impressions, while players collectively gained more than one million new followers after Jan. 1, 2025.

Across its platforms, Unrivaled offers fans locker-room access, courtside intimacy, and personality-driven content that transforms role players into breakout stars. Fans have responded by connecting with players across all eight teams, including established names like Brittney Griner and Paige Bueckers, as well as emerging talent just beginning their professional journeys.

Unrivaled was built to address a structural gap in the women’s basketball ecosystem. While media exposure, brand partnerships, and NIL deals have increased across women’s sports, a significant disparity remains in offseason attention—particularly for WNBA athletes.

A player-first model

Kirby Porter, Chief Brand Officer at Unrivaled, emphasized that one of the league’s core goals was to sustain the momentum women athletes build during the traditional season.

“Unrivaled really filled a gap — one, in terms of extending the women’s basketball season. Obviously, WNBA goes from May to October, and traditionally, players would go overseas sometimes the day after the WNBA season ended to May of the following year. And that kind of led to a drop-off in hearing from the players or just coverage of the players. So, just the basic benefit of keeping them here,” she said.

The league was intentionally designed with athletes’ best interests at the center. Its model includes equity opportunities, the highest average salaries in the sport, and Ally’s investment helps keep players in the U.S. during the offseason rather than pursuing riskier contracts overseas. Unrivaled’s Miami-based facilities also offer on-site, professional, and complimentary childcare, along with comprehensive injury insurance that guarantees salary coverage.

A turning point in women’s basketball

Within Unrivaled’s orbit, Ally’s presence is strategic and deeply intentional. The company’s early commitment provided crucial signaling power, helping attract roughly 20 additional sponsors and positioning Unrivaled as a culturally relevant force in women’s basketball—not a niche experiment.

“I think having a partner like Ally as the founding partner instills so much confidence in Unrivaled,” Porter said.

She later highlighted how the league’s player-first culture and incentives, combined with Ally’s backing, have allowed Unrivaled to “cut through into so many other sectors, markets, and areas of interest.”

Unrivaled’s growth continues to be undeniable. Its 1,000-seat home arena regularly sells out on game nights, the league has expanded from six teams to eight, and its first road game will take place in front of a sold-out crowd at a 20,000-seat arena in Philadelphia.

“This is the turning point,” Porter said when asked what Unrivaled could mean for the future of women’s sports. “I feel like there’s been so many ups and downs, like ‘we’re breaking through’… but this is the actual turning point for women’s sports as a business.”