Caitlin Clark Not a Part of the Roster Reveal for 3-on-3 League’s Debut Season

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is presented the game ball after a game against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on July 6, 2024. Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Unrivaled, the new three-on-three women’s basketball league set to debut in January, bills itself as “a league built in collaboration with the biggest stars in women’s basketball.”

But the biggest star, Caitlin Clark, apparently won’t be there.

Unrivaled will consist of six teams, with six players per team. On Nov. 20, the league announced 34 of the 36 players, with two wild cards to be named later. Clark was not among the 34 players revealed, a roster that consists of a who’s who in the WNBA, including league cofounders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.

While Clark could fill one of the two wild-card spots, that is not expected, according to reports that say she will not participate in the league’s debut season. Once her WNBA rookie season ended with a first-round playoff defeat, Clark said having some time off from basketball would do her some good considering the whirlwind of the past year.

Just two weeks after her college season ended at Iowa, she was drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever, and just three weeks later, she made her WNBA preseason debut. So she played basketball essentially nonstop from the start of her final season at Iowa in November 2023 to the end of her rookie season in Indiana in late September.

You could certainly understand why Unrivaled is keeping two spots open in the unlikely event that Clark changes her mind as she was a cash cow, first for women’s college basketball, then for the WNBA. In addition to being named WNBA Rookie of the Year and becoming the first rookie in 16 years to make All-WNBA First Team, Clark helped elevate the league’s profile. The WNBA experienced record attendance and television ratings, driven primarily by Clark’s presence in games. Unrivaled already has a broadcast partner in Warner Bros. Discovery, with the 2025 season to be aired on TNT and TruTV, and streamed on Max.

There was also an incentive for Clark to be a part of this new venture, outside of the chance to compete against the world’s best players in a different format. Unrivaled boasts that it is offering the highest average salary in U.S. women’s pro sports history, with all players making at least six figures. In her WNBA rookie season, Clark made $76,535 as a base salary. Additionally, each of the 36 players will get equity in the league that will vest over a four-year period. Plus, Unrivaled will hold a midseason 1-on-1 tournament with the winner receiving a minimum of $250,000.

Clark wasn’t the only big name left off the initial roster reveal. A’ja Wilson, the reigning WNBA MVP and three-time winner, isn’t listed. She has mostly stayed away from playing basketball during the WNBA offseasons as only once—in 2018 in China—did she participate in an overseas league, and there’s been no indication that she is interested in competing in Unrivaled, at least in 2025.

Even with those absences, there are plenty of big names for both the diehard and the casual women’s basketball fan to get excited about. In addition to Stewart and Collier, players such as Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kelsey Plum, Arike Ogunbowale and Brittney Griner are on the roster, as well as a couple of Clark teammates. Kate Martin, who played four seasons at Iowa alongside Clark, is part of 2025 Unrivaled, as is Aliyah Boston, who is on the Indiana Fever.

Furthermore, Clark’s biggest rival, Angel Reese, is also part of the debut season.

Even though Clark is taking a break from the hardwood, she is still staying busy thanks to golf. She played alongside Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam at The Annika pro-am last week, and this week she’s at another pro-am held in conjunction with the PGA Tour. The RSM Classic is the last event on the PGA Tour’s 2024 schedule, and its pro-am featured Clark teeing off with numerous luminaries outside the world of golf, including Tom Brady.

The Unrivaled season is scheduled to begin Jan. 17 in Miami. The 1-on-1 tournament is to take place from Feb. 10 to 14, with the playoffs then beginning on March 16. The Finals are slated to begin March 17, and the league hopes to shift to a tour-based format across the United States the following season.