“They built a blueprint that made a lot of sense for what the fans are eager to get,” said Stephanie Marciano, Ally’s head of sports and entertainment marketing. “It’s that access. It’s that player proximity, and we wanted to wrap ourselves around all of that.”
Jason Notte/ADWEEKPutting up numbers
Fans packed into Unrivaled’s space on a somewhat sultry July 18 opening day to get team patches on Sephora belt bags, join a Samsung shooting competition on the court, meet multiple players, and watch later that night as the WNBA Skills Competition and 3-Point Contest were swept by Unrivaled roster members Natasha Cloud and Sabrina Ionescu. Even without hometown favorite Caitlin Clark, who sat out the 3-Point Contest with an injury, the Unrivaled-led WNBA All-Star Skills Competition and 3-Point Contest drew 1.3 million viewers for ESPN—up 89% from 2024 and the most-watched Skills Competition and 3-Point Contest ever.
The following day, Unrivaled and Samsung Galaxy invited Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo, LSU standout and hip-hop artist Flau’Jae Johnson, and the University of Connecticut’s Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd to announce the signings for 14 collegiate players to name, image, and likeness rights (NIL) deals. Hidalgo, Johnson, Strong, and Fudd will be joined by Lauren and Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Syla Swords (Michigan), and JuJu Watkins (USC)—the latter of whom invested in Unrivaled during its first round of funding.
“You want to work with good people, and you want to understand what the other person is looking for,” said Alex Bazzell, co-founder of Unrivaled and NBA and WNBA skills coach. “Being able to do a NIL partnership early and get them to understand what Unrivaled is, what the mission is, what we’re trying to do to help build and elevate their brand—we build more alignment from an earlier age, rather than waiting when it’s time to sign to play in the league.”