Rickea Jackson will play in Unrivaled, new 3x3 basketball league, after WNBA rookie season

Former Lady Vols basketball star Rickea Jackson will play in a new 3x3 basketball league this offseason following her rookie campaign with the Los Angeles Sparks.

The new league, named Unrivaled, was founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier and will begin its inaugural season in January and run through March. Stewart and Collier, both former UConn stars, announced the creation of the league in July 2023 with the purpose of giving top WNBA players an alternative to playing overseas in the offseason.

Jackson has proven she's one of the best rookies in the WNBA this summer, and she's only the second rookie announced as one of the 30 players participating in Unrivaled. Former LSU star Angel Reese is the only other rookie among the 18 players announced so far.

The league will have six teams that will play at a soundstage in Miami. Stewart and Collier raised enough in private funding and sponsorships to pay a minimum six-figure salary, which would make Unrivaled the highest average salary in U.S. women’s professional sports. The player-owned league is also providing equity stakes to all 30 players.

Unrivaled has a star-studded list of investors, which includes UConn coach Geno Auriemma, U.S. women's national team soccer champions Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, NBA legends Carmelo Anthony and Steve Nash and business mogul Gary Vaynerchuk.

WNBA players have historically gone overseas in the offseason, where they can sign lucrative contracts to supplement their WNBA salaries. Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young is the highest player in the league with a salary of $252,450. Young is also playing in Unrivaled this season.

As a top-four pick in the 2024 draft, Jackson's base salary for her rookie season is $76,535. The 6-foot-2 forward was selected No. 4 overall in April by the Sparks and quickly earned her place as a starter.

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Jackson has averaged 16.1 points on 50.5% shooting in the eight games since the WNBA returned from its month-long break for the Paris Olympics. She's averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists on the season. Jackson recently scored a new career-high of 25 points on 60% shooting, including 6-for-8 from 3-point range, against the Dallas Wings.

Jackson is already making a splash as a rookie, recently signing a multi-year shoe deal with Skechers in July. She's the first WNBA player to sign a shoe deal with the company, which has started to break into the basketball sphere with NBA players last season.

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rickea Jackson will play in Unrivaled after WNBA rookie season