Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart started Unrivaled, a pro 3v3 league for WNBA players in 2025. The league provides WNBA players with an option to playing overseas just to supplement their low WNBA salaries. During one of the games to start this season Collier, a Minnesota Lynx player and vice president of the WNBA players union, spoke to Lisa Leslie and other media about the collective bargaining agreement and where talks stand as we approach the Jan. 9 deadline.
“Well, our deadline is coming up in a couple of days I think we’ve heard a lot of chatter about what we’re asking for is not sustainable for the business,” Collier said during the courtside interview. And being on this side with Unrivaled I know what it takes to run a sustainable business.”
According to reports Unrivaled made $30M in its first season. In the Unrivaled league, players make a minimum of six figures, with the average compensation exceeding $220,000 per player in the inaugural 2025 season. That trumps the average WNBA salary of $102K for a 44-game season.
Napheesa Collier Calls For New WNBA Leadership Again During Unrivaled Broadcast
“So, I think if they can’t find a model to make that happen, they need to put people in place who can because we’ve proven that it is possible, Collier said, taking about her shot at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who Collier once described as the “worst leadership of any sport.”
Collier continued:
“There is a way, and we are thriving in that. I still believe a deal will get done but we’re standing firm in what we believe in… we’re not going to back down, and we can’t take less. The sport has just grown too much; it would be a disservice to the people who came before us and the work we’ve put in to take less than what we’re owed.”
Most WNBA fans support the players getting significant increases in salary and revenue, but the two sides have said they are far apart on several issues including revenue sharing.
WNBA Fans Blast Napheese Collier For Saying She Knows How To Run Sustainable Business
Others were tickled by Collier’s comments considering Unrivaled is two years old. They felt that Collier labeling Unrivaled League sustainable in its second season is either an exaggeration or a lack of business acumen. That remains to be determined.
“TNT is taking massive losses for this thing to pretend like they’re a successful league – as soon as TNT has to start crediting back advertisers, that hand out money goes away, and this thing collapses. Let’s be for real here,” one fan quipped.
“Sustainable business? This is Unrivaled’s 2nd season, it’s NOTHING compared to 30yrs of the W. If you ladies wanted change, you should have started these new talks BEFORE 2023, , but you didn’t have the momentum then, so now you’re using someone else’s name to get what you want,” another fan said, suggesting that Caitlin Clark is being used as a pawn in a game.
“It’s become pretty clear the WNBPA “leadership” and its legal counsel are some of the most feckless folks around pro sports. Year 2 = “sustainable”,” one fan said, mocking Collier’s comments about a business in its second year of existence being sustainable.
“With all do respect, you’re only your second year of unrivaled so I highly doubt you know in depth what it takes to run a sustainable business. I’m sure at some point in the future that will resonate.
Collier is not tip-toeing, talking soft or mincing her words.
Napheesa Collier Will Miss Unrivaled & Beginning Of 2026 WNBA Season
The Minnesota Lynx star and two-time WNBA MVP runner-up will undergo surgery on both ankles, which is expected to sideline her for four to six months. Collier suffered multiple ankle injuries during the season, including a sprained right ankle and a torn ligament in her left ankle sustained during the semifinals.
This decision comes after she suffered multiple ankle injuries during the WNBA season, inclsprained right ankle and a torn ligament in her left ankle during the semifinals. The surgery is scheduled for the first week of January, and her recovery timeline is crucial for the current Unrivaled season, which runs Jan 5 to March 4 and the potential start of the 2026 WNBA season
