Napheesa Collier has been an active voice in the women’s basketball realm. Back in the offseason, the Minnesota Lynx star lashed out at Cathy Engelbert for her alleged lack of accountability. Throughout the CBA tussle, the 29-year-old led the athletes from the front.
Putting forth the players’ demand for pay equity, Collier stood her ground against all the odds. She also gave some valuable advice to the WNBA players when the times were tough. However, to make the WNBA athletes evolve more, the Lynx star also introduced ‘Unrivaled.’ And now, Collier dropped her honest take on why the 3-on-3 league is a crucial one.
Napheesa Collier Praises Unrivaled’s Superior Salary
Ahead of the WNBA season, the board of governors approved the new CBA. With the changed structure, the players can now earn a supermax salary of $1.4 million. Now, many people might feel that teams pay the players adequately. And thus, they don’t have to worry about playing in the offseason. Speaking in a recent interview, the 5-time WNBA All-Star explained that the salaries in the Unrivaled are actually competitive compared to those in the WNBA.
“Our salaries are still extremely competitive. Most people are still making more in Unrivaled than they are in the WNBA. And, on top of that, we still have to play… you still have to improve your game in the offseason.
You still have to workout and playing against the best players… iron sharpens iron,” said Collier.
Phee says Unrivaled is still necessary even with new WNBA CBA and players in Unrivaled could actually make more than the W max:
— Vanshay 🎥 NEW ACCOUNT (@mvanshay) May 6, 2026
“Our salaries are still extremely competitive. Most people are still making more in Unrivaled than they are in the WNBA. And, on top of that, we still… pic.twitter.com/TY4WxPWgJW
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The Unrivaled was created with the sole purpose of helping WNBA players earn more in the offseason within the country. Earlier, the athletes had to travel abroad to compensate for the low wages that the WNBA offered. As a result, the tournament’s initial editions became overly successful. Now that the new CBA is in place, it would be interesting to see whether the response changes.
Meanwhile, with her offseason antics still in discussion, the Lynx star clarified the reason behind her fallout with Cathy Engelbert.
Why Did Napheesa Collier Vehemently Criticize Cathy Engelbert?
Last season, Collier’s exit interview sparked a lot of buzz. Publicly taking shots at the WNBA commissioner, the 2025 WNBA All-Star MVP had some harsh words. Following the backlash, the CBA issue began to gain momentum as more players joined the 29-year-old in protest.
Recently, looking back at the incident, Collier stated, “I think I just got to the point where I was fed up. Whether I was going to get annihilated for this or people were gonna support me, I felt like what I was doing was right. I felt like it needed to be said, so no matter the consequences, I felt like it was something that needed to be done.”
Phee on her “worst leadership in the world” criticism of Cathy:
— Vanshay 🎥 NEW ACCOUNT (@mvanshay) May 6, 2026
“Thinking about the state of the world right now… that was a little dramatic… I’m still happy that I did it, and I think it had the intended effect of moving our negotiations along. I think an unintended… pic.twitter.com/G8m1Bc1Ofp
Thus, with so much happening around the league, fans will eagerly watch how the 30th edition of the WNBA unfolds.