Breanna Stewart Could Learn a Lesson From Ice Cube's Struggles With NBA as Unrivaled Nears Much-Awaited Launch

Isn’t the WNBA the place to be for any aspiring female basketball star? In May this year, the league recorded its highest attendance month in the last two decades, largely thanks to Caitlin Clark, whose arrival has helped fill arenas up to 94%. While the WNBA salaries aren’t great currently, these numbers will eventually generate more revenue and thus, increase the chances of a higher salary. However, many stars have found other avenues to earn. After Ice Cube’s Big3, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier unveiled the model of their new league, Unrivaled.

“For years, women have relied heavily on off-court sponsorships for a majority of their income,” they said. As the league already aimed at making history, the WNBA’s viewership, which just got a boost, might again be at stake. Now, Unrivaled is only five months short of making its debut. Will the WNBA stay quiet? Maybe. For sure, the WNBA’s response and the success of this league are unknown. But, there’s something known that Stewart needs to take a lesson from: Ice Cube.

Similar to what Stewart and Collier have planned with Unrivaled, Ice Cube already did with the Big 3 league. The rapper collaborated with entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz in 2017 to unveil the new league. And it had a unique idea behind its launch. It aimed at playing 3-on-3 while having both former and international players on its roster.

Even Ice Cube planned to give away big financial figures. According to multiple reports, he offered Big 3 players a staggering $10,000 per game along with performance-based bonuses. This means each player had a chance to earn $100,000 per season. Well, this figure looks impressive until you compare it with the NBA’s average per annum salary of $10.28 million.

Then, why would the NBA seemingly be threatened by Big 3? Competition. “I’m not trying to compete in any way, shape or form with the NBA. We are very complementary,” said Ice Cube in his new podcast series Gatekeepers. According to Ice Cube, his Big 3 is consistently targeted despite all this. He even mentioned the unique ways Adam Silver and the NBA try to eliminate the competition.






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