🔊 Are Women's Sports Valuations Overvalued?

Unrivaled Basketball, the innovative three-on-three women's basketball league, announced a $100 million+ Series C funding round at a $650 million valuation up from $340 million in 2025.

The round was led by Ten Pillars Sports Fund, with Carmelo Anthony, Gino Auriemma, Jenny Just, Ashton Kutcher, Alex Morgan (via Trybe Ventures), Dan Rosensweig, and Trae Young also participating.

League revenue was estimated at $45 million in Year 2, up from $27 million in Unrivaled's inaugural season.

The player equity pool, which provides participating players with equity opportunities, has also increased by more than 550% since the league's inaugural season in 2024, now worth close to $200 million.

Why This Matters

Women's sports valuations are on another level right now.

We’ve seen Angel City FC go from $2 million in 2022 to $340 million this year, according to Forbes.

Not to mention the Golden State Valkyries, who, although they weren’t even a team two years ago, became the first women's sports team in history to reach a $1 billion valuation this year at more than 12 times revenue.

And this week, as we know, Unrivaled raised $100 million at a $650 million valuation, nearly double its valuation in less than a year.

The question worth asking is whether these valuations are justified.

And honestly, it depends on how you look at it.

From a skeptic's perspective, the case for Unrivaled being overvalued is valid.

Year 2 revenue came in at an estimated $45 million, which is impressive growth, but that's a steep implied revenue multiple at a $650 million valuation.

That's over a 14x multiple, which is steep by any standards these days.

For additional context, the entire WNBA, a 30-year-old league with 15 teams, is collectively valued at just over $5 billion.

Unrivaled is being valued at roughly 13% of the entire WNBA after just two seasons of play.

This kind of growth could signal an overhyped market or even a bubble.

On the other side, the bull case is just as compelling.

To start, capital is flowing into the entire women’s sports space because the audience is growing, media rights deals are getting bigger, and the assets are still more accessible than those in men's sports.

Before the league's official start, Unrivaled signed a six-year deal with TNT worth approximately $100 million, which is remarkable by any standards for a start-up league.

Furthermore, the player equity model differs significantly from that of any other league globally.

The player equity pool has grown by more than 550% since the inaugural season and is now worth close to $200 million.

When the athletes who drive your product are also stakeholders in its success, that alignment can change everything, including player commitment, marketing leverage, and fan retention.

Lastly, the league roadmap and future plans point to an even bigger opportunity.

The league took games outside its traditional home market in Miami last season, staging sold-out events at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Philadelphia event even set records for the highest-attended regular-season professional women’s basketball game and the highest-attended event of any kind at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

With more potential teams and city tours on the horizon, revenue could jump significantly over the next year.

So is Unrivaled overvalued?

Maybe by traditional metrics.

But traditional metrics weren't built for a league that's growing 66% year-over-year, with athlete-owners, celebrity investors, and a product that fills a major market gap.

What we’re seeing is that the market is betting on the long-term upside.

And right now, nothing suggests it's slowing down.

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