There’s a new professional women’s basketball league on the horizon founded by former UConn teammates and current WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Announced on Thursday, Unrivaled is an innovative 3-on-3 league that will run in the WNBA’s winter offseason and serve as the “most exclusive basketball league in the world.”

The league initially will target 30 of the top players in the WNBA, with six teams and five players per team. Unrivaled will run for 10 weeks from January to March with three games played per week, and it also will feature a single-elimination 1-on-1 tournament. The league’s official launch year has not yet been determined.

In its inaugural season, Unrivaled will be based in Miami, Fla., and competition will take place in a custom facility with a state-of-the-art LED surrounding and a shortened 65-foot basketball court, which will provide an experience the women’s game has never seen before. The facility will also include fan seating, a weight room, recovery resources and content studios.

The new league aims to host at least one event in a larger arena during its debut season and currently has several locations in consideration.

Players’ salaries for the 10-week season are expected to be competitive with top WNBA and overseas salaries, a source informed Just Women’s Sports. The maximum WNBA annual salary is currently $234,936, and the average salary is just over $100,000 a year. Each Unrivaled player will also have equity in the league. Unrivaled’s revenue streams will consist of advertisement and sponsorships, media rights, merchandising and ticket sales.

The league is currently in the midst of fundraising, and Stewart told ESPN she’s already had conversations with potential business partners.

The timing of the new league coincides with fan interest in women’s basketball reaching historic highs. The 2022 WNBA season on ESPN was the most-viewed since 2006, and ESPN’s 2023 season-opening broadcast peaked at 1 million viewers and was the most-watched regular season game on cable television in 24 years. At the NCAA level, the 2023 championship game between LSU and Iowa averaged 9.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever.

Unrivaled will provide players with an opportunity to tap into the growing market and with another means of offseason income.

For years, many WNBA players have gone overseas in the winter months to compete and supplement their WNBA incomes. That option has become even more tenuous since the WNBA’s prioritization rule went into effect this year, fining players with over two years of WNBA experience if they did not report to their teams by May 1. In 2024, the consequences are much steeper: Players will be suspended for the season if they are not present by the start of training camp, according to the clause written into the league’s CBA.

The Unrivaled season is expected to wrap up in March, leaving its players with plenty of time to prepare for WNBA training camp.

“It’s the ability for players to stay home, to be in a market like Miami where we can just be the buzz and create that with the best WNBA players,” Stewart told ESPN. “We can’t keep fighting [the WNBA’s prioritization rule]. It is a rule that takes away our choices, which should never be a thing, especially as women, but it is still a rule.”

One of the biggest benefits of players competing in the WNBA and Unrivaled is rest. For the first time, top professional players who wish to earn an income through basketball in the winter won’t be forced to balance two full-season leagues and a 12-month schedule. With the start of WNBA training camp in April and the completion of the season in September, Unrivaled and WNBA competitors will have three months from October, November and December to rest their bodies.

Unrivaled plans to invest in content creation and brand visibility, giving its players an opportunity to market themselves during the WNBA offseason and grow their individual brands year-round.

The league could also be in a unique position to lure top college players out early with substantial contracts compared to WNBA rookie salaries, which currently fall within the range of $65,000 to $74,000 annually.

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

Two key upsets headlined Thursday's WNBA bill, sending the Phoenix Mercury soaring into third place in the league standings while the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries continued to outwit opponents.

The red-hot Mercury snagged their fourth straight win by taking down the No. 2 New York Liberty 89-81 on Thursday night, overcoming an 35-point performance from two-time MVP Breanna Stewart with five double-digit Phoenix scorers.

Meanwhile out West, the Valkyries stifled a surging No. 7 Fever, downing Indiana 88-77 in part by holding star guard Caitlin Clark to just 3-for-14 from the field — and 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

"We were being disruptive, we know that she doesn't like physicality, we know that she wants to get to that left step-back," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said about the Valkyries' strategy to effectively contain Clark.

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Though the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and 2024 WNBA champions New York still hold court atop the table, Thursday's actions proves that other squads are making some unexpected in-roads.

Putting together an impressive road record are the Mercury, who will ride a 4-2 away record into their Saturday matchup against the No. 11 Chicago Sky — the last stop on a four-game road trip that's been perfect for Phoenix thus far.

Already flipping the script on expectations is Golden State, with the 2025 expansion team rising despite relying on a hodgepodge roster as several players compete at EuroBasket 2025. The Valkyries will aim to keep their winning momentum in their Sunday clash with the No. 12 Connecticut Sun.

How to watch the Mercury, Valkyries this weekend

Both of Thursday's victors will be back in action this weekend, with Phoenix facing Chicago at 1 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ABC.

Then on Sunday, Golden State will host Connecticut at 8:30 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

In another weekend full of WNBA action, all eyes are on Las Vegas, as the No. 8 Aces will try to curb a two-game losing streak against two formidable opponents.

A successful weekend for Las Vegas could hinge on three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's potential return from injury, with the star forward recently upgraded to "questionable" after landing in concussion protocol last week.

Overall, the margin for error has narrowed in the middle of the WNBA pack, as talented teams continue to translate quality performances into consistency.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Aces will try to end their free fall in Friday's head-to-head battle with a Seattle side that can beat anybody at their best.

• No. 7 Indiana Fever vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Sunday at 3 PM ET (ESPN): Las Vegas next faces a Fever team still smarting from Thursday's away loss to the Golden State Valkyries, with both teams narrowly clinging to positions above the playoff line.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm, Sunday at 7 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The Liberty have a comfortable hold on second place, but with two losses in their last three games, New York is flirting with danger entering their Sunday game with Seattle — particularly if star big Jonquel Jones is out after suffering a knock to the ankle on Thursday.

Ultimately, there's no rest for the weary in the WNBA, as a series of difficult matchups can see a single error quickly slide into a losing streak.

The final NWSL weekend heading into the league's six-week summer break has arrived, giving teams one more chance to prove themselves before regular-season play pauses to make way for major international tournaments.

With a five-point gap separating No. 1 Kansas City from No. 2 Orlando in the NWSL standings, the Current will enter the break as the 2025 Shield frontrunners regardless of this weekend's results.

Despite Kansas City's grip atop the table, there's still plenty of room for movement both above and below the postseason cutoff line, as clubs across the NWSL look to wrap their midseason finales on a high note:

• No. 1 Kansas City Current vs. No. 10 Angel City FC, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): Angel City has a shot at launching themselves above the cutoff line on Friday, but they'll have to snap the Current's five-game winning streak to make it happen.

• No. 8 Gotham FC vs. No. 9 Bay FC, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Gotham and Bay FC enter the weekend tied on points while staring at each other from on opposite sides of the playoff line — meaning a Saturday win for either club could set the tone for the rest of the 2025 season.

• No. 3 San Diego Wave FC vs. No. 4 Washington Spirit, Sunday at 10 PM ET (CBS Sports): The weekend's only top-table clash could see San Diego sprint back into second place — unless Washington leapfrogs the upstart Wave to claim the third-place spot.

The LPGA Tour has turned its attention to Texas, with the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship — the third major of the pro golf season — teeing off in Frisco to a flurry of first-round action on Thursday.

All of the sport's Top 100 athletes are participating in this week's event, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, who sits in a 14th-place tie with an even-par first-round performance, and surging US dark horse No. 50 Lexi Thompson, who tied for 10th in her Thursday return from a brief retirement.

However, leading the pack heading into Friday's second round is Thailand's world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who finished the first day of competition atop the leaderboard with a score of 4-under-par.

Australia's No. 24 Minjee Lee also posted a strong start, capping Thursday at 3-under to sit in second place.

While the sport's best chase victory on the links, the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship is already making history off the green.

Not only is it the first-ever women's major to tee off at Frisco's Fields Ranch East, the tournament also increased its purse to $12 million on Tuesday — nearly tripling the $4.5 million prize pool from just four years ago and tying the US Women's Open for the LPGA Tour's highest payout in the process.

How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The third LPGA Grand Slam of 2025 continues through Sunday.

Friday's second round will air live on the Golf Channel, while coverage of Saturday and Sunday's final rounds will air across NBC and Peacock.