The WNBA Players Association is releasing its first official NFT collection on the OpenSea Platform on Thursday, with proceeds benefiting voting rights.

In collaboration with Hoopers Vote, a campaign launched during the 2020 election by Entertainment Broadcaster and Producer Ben Lyons and the HEARTLENT Group, the Hoopers United NFT collection will donate over 50 percent of each sale to Rock the Vote and the WNBPA.

Elliot Gerard, Founder and Head of Creative at HEARTLENT Group, is the creative force behind the collection, creating unique works of art that highlight WNBA players’ individuality and achievements.

“WNBA players have always been the first in every social issue that’s on the right side of history, and this is an opportunity to continue to support them as they’re out there balling and doing great stuff in the community,” Lyons told Just Women’s Sports. “I’m a huge fan of the athletes in the WNBPA. They are real-life superheroes that I admire and love to watch hoop and ball out.”

The players of the WNBA have long been vocal advocates for social and racial justice and voting rights. Their work reached a crescendo in 2020 when the players’ campaign for Rev. Raphael Warnock during the Georgia Senate race helped him win the seat over former Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler, who had spoken out against WNBA’s embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I think I always go back to the start of our partnership with Rock the Vote. Back in 2018 we started working with them and they just recognized how genuine the players were when it comes to voting rights and all that they wanted to do to amplify the message,” WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told JWS.

“So, we stayed working with them through the midterms and the major election cycles, and started working with the whole Hoopers Vote initiative a few years ago when we were in the (WNBA) bubble.”

The players’ political and social activism, Jackson says, stems from their understanding of the responsibility they have in their diverse communities.

“What the players have always said is that it’s in their DNA,” Jackson said. “When you think about it what it means to be Black, Brown, woman, a member of the LGBTQ community, an ally of that community, the fact that pay equity is an issue that they champion, that women’s health is an issue that they champion, that all affects them. They see their connection and their responsibility to their communities.”

The Hoopers United NFT drop is a seamless way for the WNBPA to do what Jackson says the league’s players are best at — connecting the dots.

“This is the 144 that gave this country a lesson in civics, a lesson in democracy, just a few years ago and did it beautifully and so proudly,” Jacksons said. “They made a major statement. I don’t care what your politics are — they got people to the polls, they got them registered and interested in voting and passionate about it and paying attention, they got them completing the census, all issues that are just important lessons in civics.”

The NFT series will also celebrate the athletes’ significant achievements on the court. The Hoopers United collection will not just feature a select few WNBPA members, but the entire collective. Each piece of original artwork will celebrate the player’s singular contributions to sport and culture, raising their profile, honoring their accomplishments in the league and directing funds directly to the WNBPA.

“Our goal is to just to continue to highlight how they’re the best in the world and they should be compensated appropriately for it, and this is another way to drive some revenue towards them,” Lyons said.

NFTs, Lyons says, were a natural choice for the product in today’s shifting sports landscape.

“We all want access to our favorite athletes. We want some type of token of connection, and this provides that next opportunity to connect with your next favorite player,” Lyons said.

“This is another way fans are communicating. They’re building community, they’re sharing their love of their teams and their players in this space, and we wanted to make sure that the women of in the W all had an opportunity to be a part of this.”

The Hoopers United Genesis Drop will be available for purchase on Thursday on the Hoopers United website.

Clare Brennan is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.