Fans slam 'disgusting' Unrivaled for hinting Caitlin Clark had joined breakaway league in 22-minute video

Unrivaled, an upstart 3-on-3 basketball league, announced its inaugural rosters on Wednesday. Only to the disappointment of fans, Caitlin Clark was not named as a participant. 

The Indiana Fever star and league's Rookie of the Year was rumored to be revealed as one of the 36 players joining the circuit during WNBA offseason. But despite some heavy hints leading up to Wednesday's roll out, Clark was not listed with any of the league's six teams during the 22-minute production. 

There is some hope Clark still joins Unrivaled as there remains two unnamed 'wildcard' roster slots. What's more, Clark could team with rival Angel Reese, whose team, the Rose, is one of two with a 'wildcard' roster slot still vacant. 

Regardless, fans online were displeased to say the least. 

'Unrivaled really dragged all this out for clicks only to have 2 unnamed wildcards,' one fan wrote. Beyond frustrating. Caitlin is not joining the league, period. They ran out of time and players, so they’re teasing to keep her fans engaged. '

Unrivaled appeared to drop a major hint about Clark earlier in the day. The league posted a form letter on its X page, telling followers 'to send this to your boss' and reminding them to watch the club selection show at 11am EST on Wednesday.

Underneath the logo of State Farm auto insurance – a company endorsed by Clark – the form letter dropped a series of hints about the latest addition to a player pool that already includes WNBA stars Brittney Griner, Reese and Clark's Indiana Fever teammate, Aliyah Boston.

'Dear Management,' the form letter begins. 'What might seem like an average Wednesday in November is in fact a momentous occasion for those who follow women's professional basketball.'

It is at this point in the letter that Unrivaled begins dropping the number '22', which happens to be Clark's jersey at both Iowa and with the Fever.

'Please excuse [blank space] from 11 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. ET so that they can watch Unrivaled's Basketball Club Selection, presented by State Farm.

Of course, Clark wasn't the only possibility if we're reading the tea leaves. After all, three-time league MVP A'Ja Wilson also happens to be No 22 in Las Vegas. Furthermore, Wilson has her own deal with State Farm.

And there remain some good reasons why Clark might opt against joining Unrivaled. 

Mainly, she's been playing more or less non stop since the beginning of her senior season at Iowa in 2023-24. Since then she became the first pick of the WNBA Draft and was launching her pro career just weeks later. 

Clark has reduced her busy schedule somewhat since the Fever were eliminated from the playoffs. She recently appeared at a pro-am golf tournament in Florida, and even scored tickets to a Taylor Swift show. 

But with the WNBA off until May, many had wondered how America's most famous 22-year-old would be spending her offseason. And of course, Tuesday's revelation did nothing to answer that question. 

Of course, fans are already losing patience with the league after Wednesday's announcement. 

'That was the stupidest thing ever,' one fan wrote. 'Unrivaled teased and clickbaited so hard.' 

'Unrivaled roll out was absolutely disgusting,' another added. 

One critic predicted that 'the day before the first game, they still won't have the final player. '

Wednesday's roster revelations began on YouTube with the league’s first six coaches dividing up the players who’ve already been announced.

The first pod of players, generally considered to be the best of the bunch, included league co-founders Napheesa Collier (Lunar Owls) and Breanna Stewart (Mist), as well as Clark’s Indiana Fever teammate Aliyah Boston (Vinyl), Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese (Rose), the Dallas Wings’ Satou Sabally (Phantom) and Connecticut Sun veteran Alyssa Thomas (Laces).

Thanks to some early media deals, Collier announced on social media last month that the league will increase from 30 players to 36, allowing each team to have six players.

'We're able to do this because we outperformed our financial projections, and so now we get to do something that we wanted to do in the future, which is give more people spots in Unrivaled,' Collier said in a social media video. 'This is such an amazing time in women's sports and we're so thankful to all the positive people who have come out and supported us.'

Over the past few months Unrivaled has unveiled a roster full of WNBA talent through social media. Aliyah Boston of the Indiana Fever was the 30th player announced Thursday, joining players such as Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd and Angel Reese.

Earlier in October, the league announced a multiyear partnership with TNT and its sports platforms to show more than 45 games when the season begins in January. Matchups will be shown three nights a week with twice-weekly games on TNT on Mondays and Fridays. Games that are played on Saturday will be shown on truTV.

Games begin on January 17 and will be played in Miami.

The league also announced earlier in the month the names of the six teams: Laces Basketball Club, Mist Basketball Club, Phantom Basketball Club, Lunar Owls Basketball Club, Rose Basketball Club and Vinyl Basketball Club.

Collier and co-founder Breanna Stewart said that all salaries will be six figures and that players will also have an equity stake in the league.

'It's really important to us,' Collier told The Associated Press in May. 'Compensation is a huge part of Unrivaled as a league and a business. All the players in this first year will have equity in the league. For players to have a piece of the pie essentially to grow their generational wealth is something we're really excited about.'

Stewart said that compensation was key for players, many of whom have spent their offseason overseas supplementing their WNBA incomes. The average WNBA base salary is about $130,000 with the top stars able to earn more than $500,000 through salary, marketing agreements, an in-season tournament and bonuses. 

'It's amazing, not only for the salaries to be similar or more than your WNBA salary, but to be able to build brand partnerships that can't come into the W or the NBA,' Stewart said. 'It's more than just an initial salary, but showing these companies who you are as a player.' 

The league, which was first announced last summer, will run for eight weeks with the 36 players divided into six teams. The squads will play two games a week with the contests taking place on a court about two-thirds the size of a WNBA one. The teams will stay the same throughout the season.

Games will be four quarters long with less time in each quarter than a WNBA contest. Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell said that the rules will be released at a later date.

'This was built as a product,' he said. 'It's meant to solve some of the things that I think just from an average fan's perspective watching women's basketball that is missing. It's space, it's pace. Some of the things that make the college game and NBA great to watch. At the same time it's not an All-Star game with trading baskets and everyone having fun. It's meant to bring out the best of the best to compete.'

The rosters will also be announced at a later date, but Stewart and Collier both said that a few WNBA All-Stars have already signed on.

Players will be housed about 15 minutes from the facility, which is a soundstage in Miami that's being built up.

'Stewie and I both have families and understand the importance of childcare,' Collier said. 'Make sure the parents in the league are taken care of.'

Collier also said there will be weight rooms and recovery rooms so that players can take care of themselves.

The league added a strong group of investors to fund the launch. Theye include Carmelo Anthony, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Michelle Wie West, Ashton Kutcher, Steve Nash and Geno Auriemma.

'It's not just about the dollars, but the relationships they have. We've been very selected with the people we brought in,' Bazzell said. 'Investing in women's sports there's a ROI for it now. We wanted to have a group of people we could call up and say 'Hey can you help in this area?'

Former ESPN President John Skipper and former Turner President David Levy are both investors and will be spearheading the league media rights deal. Levy, who is the co-founder and co-CEO of Horizon Sports & Experiences will work on Unrivaled's sponsorship sales efforts.

'I've never seen a win, win, win like this on all aspects that there are no losers,' Levy said. 'The fans win, the media companies win, the leagues win, the ladies win. It seems unusual to get all that lined up at a moment in time. It's like a penny stock that can go to a $10 in, you know, a year from now, two years from now.'

Levy said a few factors are driving this inflection point for women's basketball that include attendance, viewership, sports betting, engagement and branding.

'I don't think this is a one-off,' he said. 'Women's basketball and probably women's soccer are taking off in a very big way.'

Stewart said that the league has come a long way since the initial dinner two years ago when the idea of the league was first hatched.

'There's nothing not to like about it, the only thing people are scared of is that it's in its first year,' Stewart said.