WNBA CBA Talks, Dan Rosensweig on Unrivaled, and the UConn Problem

In the first Her Game Her Voice episode of the new year, Kaari kicks things off with a clear-eyed update on the latest WNBA CBA negotiations, including what the newly announced moratorium actually means, why the offseason is on pause, and how it could compress everything from free agency to the draft—without putting the 2026 season in danger (hopefully).

Next, a listener question breaks down one of basketball’s most underrated pieces of tech: those little black boxes referees wear on their belts. This segment explains how precision timing works and more.

Then it’s Part 3 of Kaari’s conversation with Dan Rosensweig, investor in the Unrivaled League and tech executive. This installment shifts from why Unrivaled exists to how it was built—exploring its player-driven structure, fan-first design, and what happens when athletes create a league with purpose instead of tradition.

And the episode wraps with the awards:

• Buzzer Beater Award - Dearica Hamby, for making Unrivaled history with the league’s first-ever 40-point game—scored in just 18 minutes of three-on-three chaos.
• Airball Award - Unrivaled’s marketing team, for teasing the mystique of “22” and fueling expectations around Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson—only to deliver neither.
• Flagrant Foul - UConn Women’s Basketball, for the audacity of being dominant, undefeated, and boringly consistent at No. 1.

“Big stories, little episodes—amplifying the voices shaping the game on and off the court." - Her Game Her Voice Podcast by Kaari Peterson

Transcript

Kaari 0:04

Happy New Year, Hoop Heads, and welcome to Her Game Her Voice, the podcast that delivers big stories about the world of women's basketball in little 15-minute or less episodes. I'm your host, Kari Peterson.

Kaari 0:18

In this first episode of the New Year, we've got a quick WNBA CBA update, a listener question about those little black boxes refs wear on their belts, and part three of my conversation with my friend and former colleague Dan Rosensweig. This time we'll go deeper on Unrivaled, what makes it different, and what makes the fan experience so good.

Kaari 0:43

Alright, let's tip it off.

Kaari 0:49

Now I'm going to give you a quick update on the saga that is the WNBA CBA negotiations. We blew past the January 9th deadline and still no deal. So now we have a moratorium. And if you're like me, you didn't even know that a moratorium in CBA negotiations was a thing.

Kaari 1:11

So what's really going on?

Kaari 1:14

Simply put, a moratorium is a temporary freeze on league business while negotiations continue. That means no free agency signings, no major roster moves. Basically, the offseason is paused.

Kaari 1:29

So why does this matter?

Kaari 1:30

Well, even though the old CBA technically expired, U.S. labor law says that for now, the rules of the old agreement still apply. Everyone knows that the next CBA is going to change money in a big way. Salaries, the cap, revenue sharing, all of it. So instead of letting teams operate under an outdated system that's about to be replaced, both sides agreed to hit pause until the new deal is finalized.

Kaari 1:59

This protects players from signing contracts under old economic rules and keeps teams from making moves they might immediately regret once the new CBA kicks in. To be clear, this is not a lockout. It's not a strike, and this does not mean that the season is canceled. Negotiations are still happening. That said, once a CBA expires, either side can escalate to a lockout or a strike later if talks collapse. We're not there right now, but who knows, we may get there.

Kaari 2:31

The real consequence of this moratorium is time. The moratorium essentially compresses the entire WMBA off-season. And there are things that still need to happen this off-season, like free agency, expansion-related roster moves, and the draft.

Kaari 2:48

All of that is waiting on one thing: a ratified CBA. So the longer negotiations drag on, the more compressed the calendar becomes.

Kaari 2:58

Bottom line, the moratorium is a pause. It's not time to panic about the 2026 season yet.

Kaari 3:08

Now it's time for a listener question.

Kaari 3:11

This week's question comes from Jake in Colorado Springs. Jake asked, What's the deal with those little black boxes the refs wear on their belts? Why does every ref look like they're wearing a pager from 1997?

Kaari 3:33

That little device is part of a system called precision timing, and its entire job is to make sure the game clock is as accurate as humanly and technologically possible.

Kaari 3:45

Here's how it works: refs wear a small belt pack connected to a microphone near their whistle. When a ref blows the whistle, that sound triggers a signal that stops the game clock instantly. No waiting for someone at the scorers table to hear it. No reaction time delay, the clock stops right now.

Kaari 4:05

When play resumes, like on an inbound, the official presses a button on that same belt pack to restart the clock. Again, there's a direct signal.

Kaari 4:15

The idea is simple. Remove human lag from timing. Because when games come down to tenths of a second, and we know they do, accuracy really matters. So to sum it all up, that little black box isn't a pager or a fitness tracker. It's basically the ref's direct hotline to the game clock. It reduces the chance of human error, and hopefully, it helps keep games drama-free.

Kaari 4:42

Great question, Jake. And if you've got one you want answered on the show, you can find me at Host at h ergamehervoice.com.

Kaari 4:55

And now it's time for part three of my interview with Dan Rosensweig.

Kaari 5:00

In episodes 17 and 18, Dan shared why he invests in women's sports and how NIL can help women athletes build their value.

Kaari 5:09

In part three, we shift from why to how, how Unrivaled was built with a sense of purpose, and how that design creates a better experience for both the players and the fans.

Kaari 5:20

Here's Dan.

Dan 5:21

Love the NBA, but you can end up in a situation where, as a fan, for a long time, you could be watching a lousy team because of bad decisions and bad ownership. And Unrivaled because there's no draft. There's never a bad game. In every game, you as the fan are seeing stars.

Dan 5:34

And what ended up happening is when leagues become when leagues stopped being owners' leagues and started being players' leagues, we all thought that was an advancement. And it was. Because we needed to care about players' health, players' safety, right? You know, players' incomes.

Dan 5:50

And and that makes great sense to me as a guy who is a CEO of companies. On Unrivaled, they put the fan first. So in this case, the arenas are smaller, the players are more accessible, right? The merch is more affordable, the tickets are more affordable. The excitement in the arena is there. The players are much more interesting and accessible. Their stories are more accessible. And it feels like they're playing for something more than just their own stats.

Kaari 6:18

And that feeling that they're playing for something bigger didn't just happen. It came from the players who looked at women's basketball, saw where it could be better, and decided to build something new.

Dan 6:30

It reminds me of what great entrepreneurs really can be by reinventing something that we didn't realize we needed and wanted, but now are obsessed with it.

Kaari 6:40

And it makes sense that when athletes build something themselves, the culture looks different. Here's how Dan describes the way Unrivaled operates:

Dan 6:50

Well, first of all, what I love is the leadership team. They have an incredible person in each role that has ambition, thoughtfulness, they have incredible confidence, but a lack of hubris. It's a mission-driven company. This team has this mission to build women's basketball the way a professional league should be run.

Kaari 7:16

Think about that for a minute, Hoop Heads. "The way a professional league should be run."

Kaari 7:22

Unrivaled isn't just fixing what was broken in women's professional basketball. It's changing how we think about what a successful sports league can be and should look like. It's showing what's possible when the people who play the game rethink it with a player-centered, fan-friendly focus. Unrivaled's second season tipped off on January 8th. Every game is televised live on TNT or True TV. And you can stream games on HBO Max. So check it out. It's a great way to catch some of your favorite WMBA players while they're waiting out the CBA moratorium.

Kaari 8:02

Huge thanks to Dan Rosensweig for sharing his perspective across the last few episodes of this podcast. I'm deeply grateful for his time and insight. Thanks, Dan.

Kaari 8:15

And now it's time for the awards section of this podcast.

Kaari 8:19

First, the Buzzerbeater Award.

Kaari 8:24

This week's Buzzerbeater Award goes to Dearica F—ng Hamby. Period.

Kaari 8:30

On January 12th in the Unrivaled League, Hamby did something no one had done before. She dropped the first ever 40-point game in league history.

Kaari 8:40

What?

Kaari 8:41

Let me say that again in case you missed it. She scored 40 points in a three-on-three game in 18 minutes. That's not a hot streak. That's a basketball inferno.

Kaari 8:54

Playing for Vinyl BC against Hive BC, BC stands for Basketball Club.

Kaari 9:00

Hamby went 16 for 23 from the field. She pulled down 10 rebounds and led her team to an 89-66 win.

Kaari 9:09

And here's something that really struck me.

Kaari 9:11

In 11 seasons in the WNBA, Derek Hambey has never scored 40 points.

Kaari 9:17

Her career high there? 29.

Kaari 9:20

So she waits for the Unrivaled League with its lightning pace and says, "cool, I'll just rewrite my personal record book real quick."

Kaari 9:28

Congrats to Dearica for her Buzzerbeater award and for making Unrivaled history. And for reminding everyone that sometimes the buzzer beater isn't one shot, it's an entire performance.

Kaari 9:43

And now, the Airball Award.

Kaari 9:47

This week's Airball Award goes to the Unrivaled League's Marketing Group.

Kaari 9:51

Last year in late November, a new Unrivaled League hype campaign had fans buzzing. And for good reason.

Kaari 9:58

All of the clues in this campaign pointed to one thing, Caitlin Clark.

Kaari 10:04

The promos kept mentioning 22, not once, not twice, but repeatedly.

Kaari 10:09

Now in the world of women's basketball, the number 22 is shorthand for superstar Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark. Duh.

Kaari 10:17

And some fans even speculated that this 22 tees might deliver a two-fer. After all, the newly crowned WNBA MVP wears number 22 and had yet to announce her plans for January 2026. I'm talking about Asia Wilson, of course.

Kaari 10:36

And what did Unrivaled deliver after the 22s?

Kaari 10:39

Nada, Zip, Zilch.

Kaari 10:43

No Clark, no Wilson.

Kaari 10:46

Reporter and analyst Rachel Anna marie D'Amita called it an "uncomfortable truth" that the league leaned into a hint that exploded fans' expectations and then didn't deliver.

Kaari 10:59

Fans tuned into the new Unrivaled season this month, thinking they might see one or two number 22s, only to realize that they'd been misled.

Kaari 11:10

And Unrivaled ratings might be bearing the brunt of this marketing debacle.

Kaari 11:14

Opening night viewership for season two was down roughly 44% compared to last year. This marketing campaign didn't just fall flat, it broke the trust of Unrivaled fans.

Kaari 11:26

To be clear, Caitlin Clark isn't in Unrivaled this season because, well, she never signed up. Choosing instead to use the WNBA off-season to rest and build her brand.

Kaari 11:37

A'ja Wilson passed on Unrivaled this season, too.

Kaari 11:41

Congratulations to Unrivaled's marketing group for teasing the star power of number 22 only to mislead fans. It's a huge airball.

Kaari 11:54

And finally, the Flagrant Foul award.

Kaari 11:58

This week I'm giving UConn Women's Basketball a flagrant foul.

Kaari 12:02

Why?

Kaari 12:03

Because it's my show and I can do what I want.

Kaari 12:07

And have I mentioned lately how much I hate UConn?

Kaari 12:11

Seriously, though, the UConn women's basketball team this year is amazing, and it makes me sick.

Kaari 12:18

Yep, even without Paige Buecker's, this team is on fire.

Kaari 12:22

Aside from being unbeaten, they're continuing their dominance as a unanimous number one in the weekly Top 25 AP poll.

Kaari 12:31

How boring is that?

Kaari 12:33

This is women's college basketball. I want more chaos and drama in the poll.

Kaari 12:38

I want teams moving up and down the list.

Kaari 12:41

So congrats to Geno and the team for this Flagrant Foul award for a consistent greatness. It's sickening and boring.

Kaari 12:54

I'm Kaari Peterson, and you've been listening to Her Game Her Voice.

Kaari 12:59

Want more?

Kaari 13:00

Hit follow or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Kaari 13:05

And if you do that, you won't miss an episode.

Kaari 13:08

While you're on the show page, please drop a rating or review or share an episode with a friend.

Kaari 13:13

You can find Her Game Her Voice on Substack, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

Kaari 13:19

Thanks for listening and happy hoopin'!