What is the Unrivaled league? All about Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier's new endeavor

Former UConn teammates Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are launching a women's basketball league called Unrivaled in the upcoming WNBA offseason in January. Stewart and Collier are looking to give other WNBA players the option to stay at home during their offseason and not play overseas.

In an interview with ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Stewart said that Unrivaled will be held in Miami. She also blasted the WNBA's new prioritization rule that requires overseas players to return before the start of training camp.

"It's the ability for players to stay home, to be in a market like Miami where we can just be the buzz and create that with the best WNBA players," Stewart said.

"We can't keep fighting (the WNBA's prioritization rule). It is a rule that takes away our choices, which should never be a thing, especially as women, but it is still a rule."

Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier plan to have Unrivaled start in January and end in March. The league will comprise six teams that have 30 of the best pro women's basketball players in the world. The games are 3-on-3 and 1-on-1 and will be in Miami.

Stewart and Collier, who were teammates at UConn and Team USA, are looking to raise enough money from private and sponsorship to give participating players a good payday. The goal is to have the same salary as the WNBA, with the league average at $113,295.

Most WNBA players go overseas after the season due to the higher salary. A report from CNN revealed that top WNBA stars can earn as much as $1 million in Europe. The report also noted that about half of the WNBA are playing abroad in countries like the Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Russia and Turkey.

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Breanna Stewart talking to potential business partners

Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty

Breanna Stewart, arguably the best WNBA player at the moment, is making good use of her popularity to attract business partners.

Stewart told ESPN that she has begun talking to potential investors and Unrivaled is making progress.

"I feel like I'm breaking down the same thing over and over again to companies," Stewart said.

"But it's like people need to be shown how to watch us and how to see us and then from there they'll kind of continue to be invested and be like, 'Oh, I do like this. Who is this player and how can I watch them more?'"

She added:

"It's just trying to be proactive and create initiatives for what we can do in the WNBA offseason besides league marketing agreements and team marketing agreements."

Stewart is the favorite to win the WNBA MVP. She's averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

She's also shooting 48.8% from the field, including 39.7% from beyond the arc. She has led the New York Liberty to atop the Eastern Conference.