Napheesa Collier's husband Alex Bazzell makes 2 massive announcements on Unrivaled amid WNBA's CBA negotiation

Unrivaled president and Napheesa Collier's husband, Alex Bazzell, announced two massive news regarding the league's second season next year. Unrivaled has been criticized by some people for a conflict of interest due to co-founders Collier and Breanna Stewart's role in the WNBPA.

Speaking to Front Office Sports on Saturday, Bazzell shared that Unrivaled has already filled out 90% of their rosters for next season. There will be an additional six players who will be part of the developmental pool. With a lot of injuries during the inaugural season, an extra pool of players helps alleviate roster restrictions.

"We have a few spots left open to fill and then we’re pretty much ready to go," Bazzell said.

Alex Bazzell added that there will be a salary increase for all players for next season. Unrivaled's average salary last season was $220,000, so the players are going to earn more next season, which could prove vital in the ongoing CBA negotiations with the WNBA.

Bazzell detailed how Unrivaled will be able to pay their players a staggering amount of money, which is higher than the WNBA's average salary of $150,000 for this season.

"The numbers are going up because the business outperformed every metric that we had," Bazzell said. "It's part of our business model that we built from the ground up, which is that as the business continues to drive more revenue, the revenue is going to get funneled back into the players."

Unrivaled was co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, who are two of the best players in the WNBA. They created the 3-on-3 league as an alternative for American players, who usually move overseas during the offseason.

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Napheesa Collier once called Unrivaled's inaugural season as 'perfect opportunity' for CBA negotiations

Napheesa Collier once called Unrivaled's inaugural season as 'perfect opportunity' for CBA negotiations. (Photo: IMAGN)

During Unrivaled's launch back in January, Napheesa Collier told Front Office Sports how the league's inaugural season is the "perfect opportunity" for the CBA negotiations between the WNBA and WNBPA.

"With the timing with the CBA, I think it’s just the perfect time to kind of blow the lid off of what our image of women’s sports and how you treat women’s athletes is," Collier said. "I think we're seeing what we like here and seeing what is possible, and we're going to take that to the table when we go."

While it was indeed an opportunity to showcase the earning potential of women's basketball, the CBA negotiations haven't been easy. The two sides have less than three months to get a deal done, or there will be a lockout next season.

Edited by Juan Paolo David