For all the grand promises Alex Bazzell and Unrivaled made — more money, real equity in the league, a new platform where players could truly be compensated for their worth — the glossy narrative is beginning to show some cracks.

Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports reports that Unrivaled’s opening-week ratings fell hard this year, which has only fueled concerns about whether the league can sustain itself long-term. What makes it even more wild is that the valuation just jumped to $340 million after a Series B raise — almost 10x what it was in May 2024. But CEO Alex Bazzell isn’t losing sleep over it.

“We’re building Unrivaled for the long game, and we’re confident in our outlook, keeping in mind the same core principles and goals we set forth when establishing the league,” Bazzell said. “We’re proud of the product we’re putting on the court each week and are going to continue growing our audience while showcasing the best women’s basketball players in the world. Leagues aren’t built overnight.”

Year one was a genuine TV success. Unrivaled averaged 221,000 viewers on TNT and truTV, with its peak arriving during the one-on-one final between Napheesa Collier and Aaliyah Edwards, which pulled 377,000 viewers. The championship game between Rose and Vinyl BC wasn’t far behind either, averaging 364,000 and peaking at 385,000.

Year two, however, is telling a very different story.

On January 5, Unrivaled opened with 175,000 viewers for its TNT + truTV doubleheader — not bad for a Monday afternoon start. But once the broadcast shifted to truTV-only games, the average plummeted to 32,000 viewers. The audience dipped again on January 9, with games across TNT and truTV averaging 139,000 viewers. And by January 10–11, the four truTV-exclusive broadcasts averaged just 71,000 viewers as per Front Office Sports.

In-arena attendance is a concern as well. In Season 1, you’d struggle to find an empty seat inside Sephora Arena, which had a capacity of around 850. This year, after capacity increased to 1,000, open seats have become noticeably more common.

Declining ratings and in-arena attendance also have a lot to do with who’s actually playing this season. Yes, Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum are major additions, but with Napheesa Collier sidelined and stars like Sabrina Ionescu and Angel Reese not returning, the product was always going to take a hit.

Part of the reason Bazzell isn’t panicking is that Unrivaled has additional revenue streams, most notably ticket and merchandise sales. The league will make a tour stop in Philadelphia later this month, which could pay off in a big way on Jan. 30, Unrivaled will stage a two-game slate at Xfinity Mobile Arena, a venue that seats between 17,000 and 20,000 fans. Those games are officially sold out, and resale prices started at $123 on Wednesday afternoon.

To add to this, according to Front Office Sports, merchandise sales from September through opening weekend jumped over 50% year over year, while ticket revenue climbed 40% thanks to the extra seats and games.

But if the ratings don’t improve, there will always be question marks around the league. Yes, Alex Bazzell and co. have a six-year media-rights deal with TNT, reportedly worth nine figures, but parent company Warner Bros. Discovery can opt out after three years. If that happens, there could come a point where the league, which had an $8 million salary pool last season, is no longer in a position to pay those salaries.

And we are already noticing a shift: players are choosing other leagues.

Alyssa Thomas, Kelsey Mitchell ditch Alex Bazzell and co for Project B

So far, there have been no reports of the league being unable to fulfill player payments. But some players don’t believe 3×3 basketball is best for their development and have moved on to other opportunities. One of them is Alyssa Thomas, who opted to join Project B instead.

“I think there’s a misconception that we don’t want to be overseas,” Alyssa Thomas said. “For me it’s about where the best opportunity is, where I can continue to grow my future. I enjoyed overseas. There’s plenty of opportunities over here. Unrivaled is an opportunity as well. Three-on-three for me I felt was a little harder to transition back into 5-on-5.”

Alyssa Thomas won’t be the only Unrivaled player heading to Project B. Kelsey Mitchell will also make the switch. Project B has already revealed details about its Tokyo tournament, scheduled to take place from March 26 to April 4 next year.

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With Project B beginning in November, it’s very possible that neither Thomas nor Mitchell returns to Unrivaled next season, and that would be another significant blow for Alex Bazzell and co.