Unrivaled is setting a new standard for women's basketball.

In a word: Salaries.

The 3-on-3 league, co-founded by Olympic gold medalists Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, debuts Friday, featuring 36 players from the WNBA, ranging from veterans like Brittney Griner to rookie Angel Reese.

Unrivaled has the highest average salary for players of any professional women's sports league, with many earning six-figure salaries for the eight-week season.

Players in Unrivaled have an average salary of more than 220,000 US dollars, which is close to the maximum base salary in the WNBA.

"When it comes to each individual player, I think what we're most proud of is they're making more here per game than any league in the world," Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell said.

For Azura Stephens, who plays for Rose in Unrivaled and for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, she's excited that the paycheck arrives when it's supposed to.

"They pay really well. They pay on time. And a lot of us aren't used to playing overseas. So that's been really, really nice just to get our paychecks on time," Stephens said.

The 8 million US dollars salary pool doesn't include equity or revenue-sharing payments, which all of the initial 36 players have. And with all games being played in Miami at an 850-seat facility, travel costs are minimal, enabling the league to pay its players higher salaries.

Players say they have enjoyed the amenities Unrivaled has offered during the two weeks that they have been in Miami, including the personalized chef at the arena, the two-bedroom apartments, a glamour room and rental cars.

Unrivaled has offered stipends and a state-of-the-art childcare option for the half-dozen parents playing in the new league.

Arike Ogunbowale, who plays for Vinyl in Unrivaled and Dallas Wings in the WNBA, says teams in the WNBA will have to level up.

"Teams that don't have things are going to have to change because the players are going to want to demand it and if you don't have it, then they're going to go elsewhere," she said.

The league itself also provides a viable option that gives players another option to supplement their WNBA salaries without having to play overseas during the offseason.

"This is my first official off-season where it was a choice not to go overseas and to do something different," said Brittney Sykes, Rose and WNBA Mystics player, who is one of many who go overseas to supplement their low salaries in the WNBA.

Leading up to its launch, Unrivaled raised more than 35 million US dollars from various sources and dozens of individual investors, including Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma and Coco Gauff. The league has also secured partnership deals with Ally, State Farm, Wilson, Under Armour, Opill, Miller Lite, Sprite, Sephora, VistaPrint and Ticketmaster to go along with a multiyear media rights deal with TNT Sports. Financial details about the partnerships have not been released.

The games will be played on a smaller court with different rules than players are used to in the WNBA, including an 18-second shot clock instead of 24 seconds. Bazzell said fans can expect to see exciting professional basketball during the WNBA offseason, with games played at a faster pace.