Angel Reese helps Unrivaled bring in $27 million in revenue in debut season

Angel Reese is one of the most popular women’s basketball players in the world. Her focus on building her brand has seen her become a household name. In that quest to increase investments in sports, she signed up for the debut season of the Unrivaled League much before anyone else did.

Signing with Unrivaled means, she will be one of the first to get equity in the league. Knowing how her fan following could help improve ratings and merchandise sales, she committed to the upstart league knowing it would greatly improve both her basketball skills as well as her brand.

The league started out well, notching pretty good ratings from their inaugural games. But then, the viewership waned, and many felt the league did not have good enough basketball to pull viewers. Soon, the league debuted its 1v1 tournament, and suddenly it caught the attention of basketball fans.

Interest in that format was so high that many suggested the NBA should implement the same if they are to improve their All-Star experience. Angel Reese did not take part in the 1v1 tournament. Despite that, the basketball prowess on display was enough to capture the attention of fans.

Then as the league resumed, Reese displayed a vastly improved game. She helped her Rose BC power to second place in the standings, defying the odds placed on them by ESPN and others. This helped the league garner a lot in terms of merchandise sales.

An underdog winning the inaugural title helped push viewership and sales. Front Office sports reported that Unrivaled managed to rake in $27 million in revenue. That helped them almost break even, quite a feat when considering that the WNBA made a loss last season.

Unrivaled looking to increase revenue

A major chunk of that $27 million came from TNT Sports with whom the Unrivaled League signed an exclusive media rights deal. That number might not go up significantly, but other aspects can be improved. Unrivaled president and husband of co-founder Napheesa Collier, Alex Bazzell, told FOS.

He revealed that they will remove the back panel which gave television viewers the idea that the arena was empty. This move would help get more people into the arena, thereby selling more tickets. That can also help increase merchandise sales too.

Along with that, the league is looking to play in different venues. Staying glued in Miami restricts the possibility of fans from other cities to enjoy the league. Expanding to different venues can help improve their fanbase.

League paying Angel Reese and others much higher salaries among other benefits

Angel Reese earned all of $73,439 from her rookie WNBA season. This upcoming season, she will receive around $1,500 more than last year. In comparison, her Unrivaled League salary was a few times that considering she was one of the first to sign up and was bringing in her millions of followers.

The upstart league’s average salary was $200,000, much higher compared to the $120,000 the WNBA pays. On top of that, they were provided decent accommodation, and access to a lot of other amenities. Along with that, they also have a player insurance model.

That is, if a player gets injured during the Unrivaled season and misses out on their subsequent WNBA season, Unrivaled will pay the salary they could have made in the W. These assurances helped the upstart league get hold of the best players from the WNBA.

They hope to use these benefits to expand down the line. Paige Bueckers is set to join them next season. If the league could tweak its methods to improve fan engagement, they could possibly make a profit as early as next season.

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