Unrivaled stars’ latest surprise perfectly encapsulates inaugural season
Napheesa Collier and Arike Ogunbowale gifted Unrivaled trainers $10,000 a piece, thanks to a partnership with Icy Hot.
On International Women’s Day, Unrivaled stars Napheesa Collier and Arike Ogunbowale surprised training staff in the Icy Hot Training Room with $10,000 bonuses. Collier honored trainer Terri Acosta, while Ogunbowale honored head trainer Lindsey Elizondo, both of whom have been key members of the league’s staff.
Unrivaled is a new full-court, professional women’s 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Collier and Breanna Stewart. The league is geared toward giving the best players in the WNBA a chance to stay in the U.S. during the offseason.
Both Ogunbowale and Collier wore custom Icy Hot patches honoring members of their training staff as they walked through the tunnel before their weekend games.
Elizondo was previously a trainer in the NBA, for the Orlando Magic, for four years,
“She’s smart, fun to be around, attentive, and always makes sure my body is right,” Ogunbowale said of Elizondo. “I appreciate all the work she puts in behind the scenes to make sure we can perform the best we can on the court.”
Acosta, meanwhile, was the head trainer on Team USA’s Olympic women’s basketball team.
“She is such a hard worker, and I admire and appreciate the way that she shows up for each of us every day,” Collier said of Acosta.
Unrivaled’s training staff has benefited quite a bit from the league’s success this season; Collier previously donated half of her $200,000 prize money from winning Unrivaled’s 1v1 tournament to her assistant coaches and training staff.
From the jump, fair compensation has been a critical part of the league’s directive; on average, Unrivaled players earned more than $200,000 for their participation in the 9-week season. In addition, players receive equity and revenue-sharing.
“We are really changing the outlook of the ecosystem holistically,” Alex Bazzell, Unrivaled’s president, told SB Nation before the season. “You’re seeing more leagues bumping up their pay because that’s where the space is now. We’re proud to play a part in that growth of just the economics of these players being paid a lot of money to play basketball. That’s where we want to get to. It’s great to have brand deals, it’s great to have all this off-court stuff, but at the end of the day, we want to be able to pay them high salaries on the court.”
The partnership with Icy Hot allowed staff to receive additional compensation for their work this winter. But, it’s one of many high-profile business deals that have benefitted Unrivaled this offseason; the league also partnered with Morgan Stanley, Sprite, Sephora, Under Armour, Samsung Galaxy, Wayfair, and Ally, among others. The league’s list of investors is also star-studded; Giannis Antetokounmpo, JuJu Watkins, Dawn Staley, Coco Gauff, and Michael Phelps are just a few of those.
Unrivaled’s season is coming to a close shortly. The inaugural season concludes on Monday, March 10th, while playoffs — which will include four teams — will begin on March 16th. The league’s championship game will be played on March 17th.