What's Going On With The WNBA
Sep 11, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Injured Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) stands on the sidelines before a WNBA game against the New York Liberty at Wintrust Arena. | Credits- Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesAngel Reese is fully capitalizing on her status as one of the WNBA’s most popular stars. Since entering the league two years ago, Reese has been intentional about building a strong off-court brand and creating long-term wealth. She has immersed herself in the worlds of sports, fashion, and business, while also launching her own charitable foundation.
Most recently, Reese invested in skincare brand Topicals, a move that helped boost the company’s valuation and contributed to a $22.6 million funding round. What makes the partnership especially meaningful is that Topicals is a Black-led skincare brand, aligning with Reese’s commitment to supporting businesses that reflect her values and community.
Topicals focuses on treating textured skin and other chronic skin conditions, but the most significant impact of Reese’s involvement may be the $22.6 million cash infusion itself and what it allows the company to build moving forward.
The majority of Reese’s estimated $9.4 million net worth comes from endorsements and business ventures rather than basketball. While she hasn’t made many direct investments, she does own a stake in DC Power FC, a professional soccer team based in Washington, D.C. Reese also serves as a brand ambassador for major companies such as Reebok, McDonald’s, and Victoria’s Secret, even walking the runway at the brand’s iconic fashion show last year.
That off-court income dwarfs her WNBA salary! In 2025, Reese earned roughly $74,000 from playing basketball, a number expected to rise to about $82,000 in 2026. With the WNBA currently facing a lockout and players pushing for a larger share of league revenue, the disparity is hard to ignore. Given the cultural and commercial impact stars like Reese generate away from the court, their demands are more than justified.
The post Angel Reese’s Investment Pushes Skincare Brand’s Funding Past $22.6 Million appeared first on The SportsRush.
INDIANAPOLIS — Pacers Sports and Entertainment is getting a familiar face as its new ambassador.
Tamika Catchings, an Indiana Fever legend, has joined the organization as its first ambassador. She will serve as one of the faces of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, attending events and helping with business initiatives.
“Indiana has been my home since I was drafted by the Indiana Fever, and Pacers Sports & Entertainment played such an important role in my life and my journey,” Catchings said. “I’m thrilled to step into this new ambassador role and continue serving the communities, families and fans that make this place so special. I can’t wait to work alongside the Fever, the Pacers and my PS&E family to help strengthen the impact we can make together.”
Catchings, the only MVP in Fever franchise history, played her entire 16-year WNBA career in Indiana. She is the Fever's career leading scorer and led them to their 2012 championship.
She stayed active in the Indianapolis community following her retirement in 2016, opening up Tea's Me Cafe downtown. She also co-founded the Catch the Stars Foundation, a youth development program that includes sports and literacy. Catchings spoke with media Tuesday at her local cafe.
“When you look at impact, there are a lot of ways you could measure that. For me, one thing I’ve always said is wherever I go, and whatever space I’m able to move into, I want to make sure I leave it better than when I came in, and that’s the same in this aspect,” Catchings said. “It’s a different landscape than when I left (the WNBA) and definitely when I started back in 2001. So, there’s still going to be a little transition for me stepping back in.Â
“But being able to hopefully interact with the players and for them to have a leader and somebody that’s been in their shoes before, seeing all the things I’ve been able to do outside of what the game gave me when I played and now building up for the future, I think that’s where my impact can come in as one of those people they can look at and say, 'Hey, one day this might be something that I could step into.'"
Catchings was the co-chair of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend host committee, as well as on the board for 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis.
“Tamika Catchings is synonymous with basketball excellence, leadership and community commitment in Indiana,” PS&E President and CEO Mel Raines said. “Her legacy as a champion along with her deep connection to our fans and her passion for uplifting others align perfectly with our mission. We are honored to welcome her back in an official capacity and excited for the impact she will make across our organization and community.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67.Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tamika Catchings joins Pacers Sports & Entertainment as ambassador
Courtesy: Imago ©Courtesy: ImagoAt a time when uncertainty surrounds the WNBA, the 3×3 format has offered a refreshing alternative as top players showcase their games. Behind the scenes, however, members of the WNBPA Executive Committee remain engaged in critical CBA discussions that could shape the league’s immediate future.
WNBPA Vice Presidents Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart have revealed the stark reality of the situation, having to manage both playing in Unrivaled and being locked in key negotiations that could affect the future of women’s basketball. Speaking after the Phantom vs Lunar Owls game, Kelsey expressed how tough the balancing act becomes when asked about her role as part of the Executive Committee of the WNBPA and playing for Team Phantom in Unrivaled.
“To be honest, it is difficult. We’re all just trying to do the best we can and navigate, and at the end of the day, we all want to play basketball. So hopefully we can get this done sooner than later,” she added.
Breanna Stewart echoed the same sentiments when asked after the game between Mist BC and Laces BC.
“Honestly, it’s hard, especially these past few weeks… But it’s the position I want to be in. I wanted to obviously be here at Unrivaled and see this to fruition as a co-founder. But also, I want to make sure the league (WNBA), when it’s time to get back to that, it’s going to be something that’s a generational shift in the CBA,” Breanna exclaimed.
More than a year after players formally stepped away from the existing collective bargaining agreement, negotiations between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association remain stalled. Key disagreements persist around pay models, revenue distribution, and player benefits. Several athletes competing in Unrivaled acknowledged this week that while the lack of progress is disappointing, it is not unexpected given the long-running nature of the talks.
While it is mentally taxing to deal with these uncertainties and play against the top players simultaneously, Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart have been performing at the highest levels in Unrivaled so far. Plum scored 38 in under 20 minutes for Team Phantom in a blowout win over the Lunar Owls.
With the revised deadline also having passed, the WNBA and the WNBPA are locked in continuous talks in an attempt to reach an agreement regarding revenue share, salary cap, and a host of other issues in and around the CBA. The entire delay in reaching an agreement has cast uncertainty around the entire 2026 WNBA schedule, with no dates revealed for the Expansion Draft, which is one of the first events on the 2026 offseason list.
The WNBA and the WNBPA both released official statements to reveal the plan ahead after the expiry of the revised deadline for the CBA negotiations.
The WNBA and WNBPA Statements About the CBA Negotiations Paint a Contrasting PictureAccording to both parties, no new extension has been agreed upon, and the bodies will continue to negotiate in good faith to try and reach a mutual agreement.
There was a demonstration in front of the NBA Store as well, with an inflatable rat being displayed, which is universally tied to labour protests around the world. While the WNBA statement was more of a blanket account without divulging details, the WNBPA statement blamed the WNBA leadership and the teams for an inability to come to an agreement.
The WNBPA statement clarified that the players had been willing to compromise, but the same was not replicated in the WNBA’s actions during negotiations. WNBA Analyst Rachel Annamarie DeMita had earlier speculated that while the players revised their demand of revenue share to 30%, the WNBA had only been willing to offer somewhere between 15 to 17% in their offer.
Furthermore, the WNBPA statement felt more like an appeal to the WNBA and all the stakeholders in general to resolve the matter with a sense of urgency. However, a case can also be made that the WNBPA ought to take a more professional route when making official statements, as the personalization can sometimes hurt the fans, whose voice will be crucial in making the two bodies come to a mutual agreement.
People have already seen Napheesa Collier’s remarks about the WNBA management not going down well with the public. And the WNBPA will hope they continue to have the fans in their favor during this negotiation phase that could very well become a historic point for women’s basketball.
The post Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart Reveal What Most Don’t See About CBA Talks While Playing Unrivaled appeared first on EssentiallySports.
The WNBA and WNBPA have agreed on a moratorium for league business, the league confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Monday, Jan. 12.
The WNBA collective bargaining agreement expired on Friday, Jan. 9, and the league and players' union have entered into a status quo period. Player benefits continue at this time, but a lockout or strike can be declared without notice.Because the current CBA is still under affect, the WNBA had an obligation to allow clubs to send qualifying offers under the agreement because of U.S. labor law. According a person with knowledge of the situation, GMs and executives from every franchise were called by the WNBA to let them know the status quo period would allow for qualifying offers to free agents beginning on Jan. 11. Any offer would be under the old CBA, so it would have been purely procedural to stay in line with labor laws.
Late Friday, the WNBPA asked for the moratorium on league business and it was accepted by the league on Monday afternoon. It applies to free agency, including qualifying offers, core designations, signings and negotiations. When a new collective bargaining agreement is ratified, the moratorium will cease.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA, WNBPA call moratorium on league business after CBA expiration
AP Photo / Marta Lavandier ©AP Photo / Marta LavandierUnrivaled promised to be different, different from the standard women’s basketball leagues have set. It’d be a faster, cleaner, player-first tournament. But just a few days into its second season, an uncomfortable similarity already surfaced, and it’s the same issue players have been facing for years in the WNBA.
Officiating.
This concern comes into the spotlight after FOS reporter Annie Costabile bluntly wrote on X: “One similarity between the WNBA & Unrivaled: officiating needs work.”
Two days ago, Cameron Brink’s Unrivaled debut was limited to only 7 minutes as she found herself in foul trouble. In a game between the Breeze BC and the Phantom BC, she entered late in the first quarter and picked up her first whistle within 40 seconds while defending Kiki Iriafen on a drive. It didn’t stop there.
Two more fouls followed in rapid succession, one on a loose-ball tie-up, another on a contested shot, giving her three fouls before the quarter even ended.
When Brink returned to the court in the third quarter, the whistles continued. A moving screen call came seconds after she checked in, followed by another foul, battling for a rebound. Five fouls in just seven minutes, and her night and her impact were effectively over.
For a player whose value lies in rim protection, physicality, and presence, this kind of whistle doesn’t just limit production; it forces them to adapt to a different style of play where their impact is minimal.
That’s where the parallel with the WNBA becomes hard to ignore. Officiating has been a lingering issue for the players, so much so that it has resurfaced again during CBA talks as players push for better standards across all aspects of the league.
IMAGOEven last year, in the first-ever season of Unrivaled, Angel Reese’s physical style repeatedly drew tight calls, often sending her to the bench early with foul trouble. Several of those games followed a familiar pattern: Reese establishing inside position, absorbing contact, and still being penalised for playing through it. She also made history by becoming the first player to be ejected from the 3v3 league.
The result was muted on-court impact and frustration among fans who felt the league’s most physical forward was being officiated out of her natural game.
So if this becomes a trend, Unrivaled risks inheriting the same frustration it had to escape. The timing couldn’t have been worse. As the WNBA and the WNBPA remain locked in CBA negotiations centered on revenue sharing and compensation, long-simmering issues around officiating have resurfaced in the background.
What makes this moment especially ironic is that co-founder Napheesa Collier had recently made a bold statement.
Napheesa Collier points to Unrivaled as proof of a sustainable model amid the CBA battleBack on January 5, on Unrivaled’s opening day, Collier, who’s sidelined this season due to ankle surgeries, during a mid-game interview said:
“Well, our (CBA) deadline is coming up right now, in a couple of days,” Collier said. “I think you’ve heard a lot of chatter about what we’re asking for is not sustainable for the business. Being on this side, with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business. So I think if they can’t find a model that makes that happen, they need to put people in place who can. Because we’ve proven that it is possible. There is a way. And we’re thriving in that.”
Jul 19, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Team Collier forward Napheesa Collier (24) looks on before the 2025 WNBA All Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesCollier’s comments underscore the broader connection between Unrivaled and the WNBA. If the WNBA wants to evolve in player experience, sustainability, or revenue distribution, she is essentially saying the blueprint already exists. Her offseason league has demonstrated that a player-focused model can thrive without sacrificing financial or operational stability, even as WNBA stars demand more consistent officiating and equitable compensation in their negotiations.
However, the WNBA and the WNBPA have failed to reach an agreement before the January 9 deadline.
The league has proposed a temporary moratorium to avoid more complications, which would freeze key league mechanisms, including free agency, qualifying offers, and core player designations. That would leave nearly 70% of players unable to formally negotiate or finalize where they’ll play next, effectively putting roster movement on hold until a new CBA is reached.
The league’s rationale is to prevent teams and players from making decisions under the current agreement that could later conflict with new rules on contracts, revenue sharing, or player protections once a deal is finalized.
The post Unrivaled Starts to Resemble the WNBA for the Worst Possible Reason appeared first on EssentiallySports.
As of now, many questions remain surrounding the next WNBA season, one of the biggest being whether there will be a season at all. That might be answered with a potential strike by the Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association (WBNPA) on the rise.
In the meantime, it is equally important to look at the future of individual teams within the league.
More specifically, one of the biggest questions that remains unanswered for the Connecticut Sun is where their players will be playing basketball next season, if in Connecticut at all. There have been several pitches to buy the team and relocate it, with the newest bid coming from the ownership group of the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
With no specifics disclosed yet, sources are reported to have said the Rockets’ owners surpassed the $250 million bid proposed by the WNBA in August to purchase the Connecticut Sun altogether. This came after the league chose to block the potential sale of the team to former Boston Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca.
The sale would have ultimately gone for $325 million and a potential relocation to Boston. Before Pagliuca could make any real moves, the league office was quick to shut it down.
Connecticut is Left with an Empty Void Once AgainThe possibility of moving one of the league’s remaining original teams since 1997 to Houston ultimately leaves Connecticut in the dust. Houston itself is where yet another original WNBA team, the Houston Comets, played until 2008.
Time and time again, Connecticut sports fans have admitted that the state can’t keep any professional sports teams. This is often in reference to the Hartford Whalers, the state’s former National Hockey League team. The team ultimately relocated to Raleigh, NC, to become the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.
While the question of where the Sun may be heading off to remains unanswered, fans are starting to accept Connecticut’s fate as time goes on. The state has failed time after time with truly investing in its professional, top-tier sports teams to the point where it has continued to come back to haunt fans even decades later.
As of right now, the Connecticut Sun play in Uncasville, CT, making them the only team in the entire league to not play in a major city. That in itself is already creating a lack of accessibility for people to come out in person to support the team.
This, along with the fact that the Mohegan Sun Arena only holds 10,000 seats, isn’t creating a true sports fan environment. The arena itself hasn’t done much to support the players themselves either. One example of this is that during the playoffs in 2024, the team had to share the court with a two-year-old’s birthday party during practice time.
With this lack of investment came warning signs through the entire starting lineup, leaving the team to go play somewhere else. Ultimately, those warning signs were not loud enough for Connecticut to make big enough changes, where the future of Connecticut sports altogether is now at stake.
All Eyes on the College KidsWith the potential relocation of the Sun comes Connecticut sports fans relying on the UConn Huskies as their only hope to showcase their Connecticut pride in a mainstream setting.
Due to the state’s inability to invest in professional sports teams, most recently a professional women’s sports team, all eyes will look to the collegiate-level athletes to represent Connecticut on the court and on the screen for viewers across the nation.
It’s a running joke that Connecticut can’t keep a team, but it’s getting closer to the truth every day.
The post Where Are the Sun Going and What Could it Mean for Connecticut? appeared first on The Lead.
There was a time when getting two words out of Aari McDonald was a chore. Times have changed.
The former Arizona women’s basketball star blossomed as a public speaker during her time as a Wildcat. She credited her parents, who convinced her that she had “good things to say” and she should share them. She will carry that sentiment onto a new podcast with fellow WNBA and Unrivaled player Rachel Banham called “Aari and Rachel: Unfiltered at Unrivaled.”
McDonald is playing alongside Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink, among others, on the Unrivaled Breeze BC in her first experience with 3Ă—3 basketball. She played for the Indiana Fever during the 2025 WNBA season, her fourth in the league. She was drafted third by the Atlanta Dream in 2021 after lifting Arizona into the national conversation and the national title game that spring.
Banham, who is also in her first year of Unrivaled, plays for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and the Lunar Owls BC. She played her college ball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers where she became the No. 1 scorer in Big Ten history and sixth in NCAA history when her career ended in 2016. She was drafted fourth by the Connecticut Sun in that year’s draft.
The weekly podcast will release its first episode on Jan. 15. It will be available on YouTube and major podcast platforms. It will feature interviews with players and backstage insight into the Unrivaled league as the games play out in Miami, Fla. Fans can follow the podcast on social media @unfilteredpoddd.
The initial episode will feature Dallas Wings teammates Bueckers and Li Yueru. Yueru plays for Unrivaled’s Mist BC.
“I’m incredibly excited about this new venture Rachel and I are bringing to Unrivaled this season,” McDonald said in the press release. “It gives me the opportunity to talk about the game I love to play while showcasing my personality, fashion, and the importance of education and financial literacy among athletes, along with many other meaningful topics of conversation, with some fun. Most importantly, it allows me to connect with players that I may never have had the chance to speak with and provides a platform to show that we are so much more than just athletes on a court.”