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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark doesn’t want to set her offseason plans in stone yet.
The WNBA offseason runs from about October to April and can fluctuate depending on the teams’ playoff results. Due to the lower salaries in the WNBA, it is not uncommon for players to head to Europe or Asia to earn more money overseas. Other players, like Aliyah Boston of the Fever, have become TV commentators for college games in their spare time.
There’s a new option in the offseason: Unrivaled. Co-founded by Paris gold medalists Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, the new 3×3 league will launch in January 2025 with 30 of the WNBA’s best players.
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In a tweet last week, Collier said the new league in Miami will have at least four rookies playing this winter. Angel Reese is already confirmed as one of them, and Unrivaled is announcing new players day by day—11 have been announced so far.
Clark would already be considered one of the WNBA’s top 30 players at this early stage of her career. The 2024 No. 1 pick leads the league with 8.2 assists per game, is third with 71 3-pointers made and ranks 13th with 17.1 points per game.
On Tuesday afternoon, Clark neither confirmed nor denied whether she will play for Unrivaled in the offseason.
“That’s all I’m focused on right now,” Clark said, referring to the Fever’s season. “One thing at a time. I can’t always move on to the next thing, my focus is right here.”
Collier and Stewart created the league for players who want to earn more money and improve their basketball skills during the WNBA offseason, but don’t want to go overseas. Clark doesn’t necessarily need the money – her lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, State Farm, Gatorade and other major brands exceed her $75,000 annual salary with the WNBA. Her shoe deal with Nike alone is set to bring in $28 million over eight years (about $3.5 million per year).
If Clark decides to join Unrivaled, it would likely be more about brushing up on her basketball skills and playing live games during the offseason.
How will Unrivaled work?
Unrivalled will be a six-team league, with each team having five players and playing 3×3. The teams will be chosen by a selection committee to ensure they are split by position and skill, Collier said on X.
However, it will be a new type of 3×3, with a 21 by 15 meter court, four quarters, a game clock and a shot clock. Olympic and FIBA 3×3 games will last a total of 10 minutes, with a 12-second shot clock.
The season will last eight weeks, beginning in January 2025. After six weeks of round-robin play, the top four teams will play for two weeks of make-up. There will also be a 1v1 tournament throughout the season, and Collier said the best singles player in the world will win at least $250,000.
According to Unrivaled’s website, the league will have the highest average salaries in the history of women’s sports and all players will also receive a share of the league.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.
