But can you explain again why that revenue share was so important?

The revenue share part is so important because before it was just kind of a hard cap.

You can make, uh, max players can make up to 250,000.

Min players can make as low as, like, 60.

Um, so now it's we're working off real numbers.

So when the league makes money, when the teams make money, players are actually getting a part of that.

So when we're on the court being our best, we are, we are receiving those benefits right away.

... that kind of thing.

Rookie salaries quadrupling in the same period.

Men's salaries are 277,000, which is more than a max in the previous CBA.

Max salaries are, like, 1.4. You're being taken care of.

We wanna make sure that our people are, are doing as, as good as they possibly can.

How much did you guys have to meet in the middle?

I honestly believe that we won.

For the most part, like, we got absolutely everything that we wanted.

[upbeat music]

But you already had a stacked year, like, how do you continue to stay motivated to continue to be great?

I'm, I'm motivated to, to keep being great because, like, I just wanna be better.

I, I feel like that's, that's really the answer is, like, um, ever since I've started playing basketball, you know, at first, like, when all I could do was rebound and block shots, like, when I was, like, in high school, like, everybody was like, "You have this, like, limitless potential." Right? Um, you guys know.

You've heard it before.

And, and now I feel like every year of...

I'm fortunate to win, but also I wanna get better, you know? I wanna make sure that I'm better and better and better.

And now it's like, as I'm in my year 10, which is crazy, um, showing other people what it takes to win, showing my younger teammates what it takes to win, and also, like, having that, that first champagne moment that we had at Unrivaled where it was like, uh, Lish and Veronica and Arike are like, "How do we open the champagne bottles?" You know what I mean? Because they're like, "I just want..." They were like, "I just wanna wear the goggles, and, like, how do we open the champagne?" Um, those moments are really cool because it shows how important it is, like, especially, like, winning your first time, and, like, you have that feeling that comes back and you wanna...

So how do you continue to pour that into, into your team?

What does a new agreement mean to you, Stewie?

I mean, excuse me, this new CBA we were fighting for for a long time.

And it seems like we really kind of came down to the wire to kind of get this thing done.

But as Claire alluded to, you know, as the league grows, the players grow and vice versa.

So just knowing that we're in partnership and really being a part of the revenue share.

So when the money comes in, that's really trickling down right to us right away.

And finally, as a player, we feel like we're getting valued for our worth.

So what is it going to take to bring another WNBA title to the city?

Now that you're a league founder, do you feel that that's changed your perspective in terms of how you work for brands? Like, do you reevaluate the Stewie deals that you receive in terms of how they could maybe benefit Unrivaled in the future?

I think a lot of my brands, they align.

And, and the fact that, you know, obviously being a co-founder with Napheesa Collier, um, knowing that there's founding brands like Ally, like Samsung, um, that, that also wanna work with us on an individual scale is, is really important.

But, but it's natural because, you know, these are, these are things and these are products that we support.

Um, but also I think just being genuine.

You know, knowing when it's like, sometimes a brand comes to me and I'm like, "Yeah, but, like, I don't use this," or, "This, this isn't gonna be something that, um, is, is gonna be really natural in, in the way I support it." And, and I feel like earlier on, early on in my career, I had to be like, "Yes, yes, yes, I'll do all of this.

I'll, whatever you need, I'll do it." Um, and now that you, you kinda build that portfol- folio, now that there's more options, there's brands that are, um, highlighting not only players like me, but, but there's a plethora of players that have stories and, and have their own brands and are able to kind of match with, um, certain people.

[laughs]

... been like, and how does that kind of differ from the, your normal day-to-day?

Yeah.

The...

I mean, shout out to you guys because podcasts are not easy and, and, you know, you always have to be prepared and talk about the things that maybe you don't wanna talk about as often.

Um, [clears throat] but I think it's, it's been a, a long time coming a little bit.

Um, I was really fortunate to find a, a great co-host in, in Myles Turner and, and just kind of understand him a little bit more.

But I think it's, it's cool that we're able to, to kinda dissect one another's games, but also the difference in between men's and women's college or the NBA, WNBA.

Is there any sort of player comparison you have to her and what we're seeing from her?

Okay.

You know, especially once you get the ball off of a rebound, like, it's a shorter court.

Um, attacking downhill, like, getting it to the RA and, and really making a decision, but then also knowing when, you know, you're gonna have some, some deep, some walk-in threes that you just have to shoot, because, because, uh, basketball players', like, mindset is to run back to the paint, right? Run back and then match up.

But then it's like, you, you cross half court, and you're open.

So it's like, instead of having four steps, it's literally two steps and, and being ready to shoot it.

Um, but yeah, I mean, I also like my teammates.

I think that I've had a, a really great time, uh, with my Mist team this year, playing with, um, basically every player that I play with on this team, Lee, V, um, Lan, Lish, Arike, like, all those players I haven't played with before, especially in a long-term setting.

But I'm just curious, when you look back, like, is it everything you expected and more? Do you think there's areas to improve? Like, how do you view it?