Unrivaled’s Series B Valuation Signals Women’s Sports Is Serious Business

Is women’s sports just having a moment? For years, the question has hung over every record-setting viewership total, sold-out arena and new superstar. However, a new figure—one representing a staggering valuation for a league that just wrapped up its first season—provides the most definitive answer yet. Unrivaled, the women’s three-on-three basketball league co-founded by elite WNBA players Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier just finished an oversubscribed Series B funding round that increased the league’s valuation to a whopping $340 million. To put this valuation into perspective, a 2025 Sportico study calculated the average WNBA team valuation at $269 million. Early in its existence, Unrivaled’s Series B valuation signals women’s sports is serious business. Investors have spoken: women’s sports isn’t having a “moment.” Instead, it is being backed and developed to optimally grow.

Unrivaled’s Series B funding round, led by venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, sends a loud message: the “moment” of women’s sports being an afterthought for investors is over. Instead, a new era of meaningful capital infusion and marketplace building is here. The investment round attracted a list of notable investors, including Serena Ventures (Serena Williams’ venture firm) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), as well as brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic). The group joins a star-studded roster of existing backers including, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, and Alex Morgan (whose venture firm, Trybe Ventures, increased its investment in the Series B round).

This strong infusion of capital follows a successful inaugural season where Unrivaled nearly broke even and doubled its revenue expectations to $30 million. The investors on Unrivaled’s cap table may be betting that the league is undervalued and possesses explosive growth potential. Such would follow the trajectory of other women’s sport properties that have sold recently. For instance, in March 2024 Ron Burkle sold the San Diego Wave FC for $120 million after paying a mere $2 million expansion fee for the team in 2022.

While Burkle’s San Diego Wave FC transaction should the exponential growth women’s sport property investors could attain, another thesis is playing out in the space: the power of talent-backed enterprises. Earlier this year Angel City FC was sold for a record-breaking $250 million to Bob Iger and WIllow Bay. Founded in part by Natalie Portman, Angel City FC’s cap table featured a powerhouse list of celebrities and athletes whose efforts helped grow its popularity. Following the sale to Iger and Bay, the team became the most valuable women’s sport franchise in the world. To this end, Unrivaled believes that its athlete backing creates business benefits. “Athlete-driven models can thrive at the highest levels of business,” said Unrivaled’s president, Alex Bazzell.

It’s Not a Moment. It’s a Movement, Fueled by Capital.

Unrivaled’s $340 million valuation will force critics to reevaluate past narratives. For far too long, the success of women’s sports has been measured using “soft” metrics, such as social media buzz or pop culture relevance. While valuable, these numbers can easily be cast aside as fleeting. A valuation, on the other hand, is a solid, quantifiable number negotiated by investors primarily focused on recouping a return on their investment. Entities like Serena Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners aren’t merely cheering the league on from the sidelines; they’re putting serious capital behind Unrivaled because the league’s financial models project huge growth and profitability.

This sentiment was echoed by co-founder Breanna Stewart, who said, “I think we have a huge sense of pride knowing that this wasn’t built without the entire team behind it and everybody that’s believed from Day 1 and invested. . . . It shows everyone else the valuation of what our league is and where it’s going to continue to go.”

Unrivaled’s financial confidence isn’t an aberration, either. These feelings are rippling across the entire women’s sports ecosystem—seen in skyrocketing franchise valuations and expansion fees in the WNBA, a likely record-breaking media rights deal for the NWSL, and the lift in viewership for women’s basketball at all levels. The success of Unrivaled can thus be viewed as both a product of this environment and catalyst for its acceleration. The league has given fans a compelling product. At the same time, it is a revolutionary business model offering players the highest average salaries in women’s professional sport league history (around $222,222 last season) and crucial equity stakes.

Expansion and Ambition: Where Unrivaled (and Women’s Sports) Go from Here

With their financial arsenal replenished, Unrivaled immediately deployed their new capital to accelerate league growth from a loose five-year strategy into a three-year attack plan. The league’s first priority remains direct investment into its athletes. Notably, Unrivaled will upgrade their Medley, Florida facilities to house a second practice court and larger training facility.

Beyond infrastructure, the league is expanding. After establishing a successful six-team format last year, Unrivaled will add two more teams for their second season. Additionally, the league is hitting the road to test their national appeal. Still calling Miami its home base, Unrivaled will have four of its teams play a weekend series in a new city. Unrivaled’s choice to invest in the player experience while simultaneously expanding their brand footprint demonstrates a sophisticated and strategic approach to building a lasting sports property. The league is doing all it can to create a year-round presence for women’s basketball, providing a high-quality, U.S.-based offseason option for WNBA players who have historically been forced to play overseas to supplement their income.                  

Unrivaled’s monumental valuation is a massive win for women’s sports going far beyond one league. It is a powerful affirmation that investment in women’s sports is more than the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. The question is no longer if women’s sports are having a moment, but instead how high this new era of investment, athlete empowerment, and league growth will climb.