New women's basketball league founded by WNBA stars, inks major TV deal

Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 women's basketball league, has found a broadcast partner, according to Sportico. The new league, founded by Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx, will broadcast games on TNT.

The 30-player league will launch in Miami this winter and stars like Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, Arike Ogunbowale and even UConn's Paige Beuckers will all sign up to participate.

The league will debut at an interesting time, as the popularity of women's basketball is surging and 3v3 basketball has become a more mainstream version of the game than ever before. Founded and owned by the players, Unrivaled will boast the highest salaries in women's team sports.

From a media perspective, it is an interesting deal for TNT, which according to Sportico will also invest in the league. TNT is expected to lose its rights to the NBA after the upcoming season. While “Unrivaled” will only run for eight weeks during the WNBA offseason, it could fill some of the void left by the NBA's departure from its longtime broadcast partner. It will be interesting to see how involved – if at all – the Inside the NBA crew is during the inaugural season. The addition of the largest studio show in sports history could certainly make the new league an even bigger event.