Few brands have made as significant an impact in women’s sports as Togethxr. Founded by four athletic women powerhouses—snowboarder Chloe Kim, basketball legend Sue Bird, Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel, and soccer star Alex Morgan—this media company has become a cultural phenomenon that champions women's sports. Togethxr's iconic "Everyone Watches Women's Sports" t-shirt has become more than just apparel—it's a statement, a movement, and a challenge to traditional sports narratives. With over $7M in t-shirts sold, the simplicity of the message relays its profound impact, forcing a confrontation with the outdated notion that women's sports lack viewership and marketability. This shirt has been spotted on celebrities, athletes, and fans alike, creating a visual representation of the growing support for women's athletics (to accompany their 464K+ Instagram following).
Just as Unrivaled—the new 3x3 basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart—launched their highly anticipated "The Future is Unrivaled" apparel collection, Togethxr responded with a series of strategic announcements that demonstrated their pettiness business acumen and market awareness. They really didn’t even let them have a smooth 24 hours. It’s okay, this video still lives in my head rent-free.
Zales Jewelry Collaboration: Entering the luxury accessories market with a custom jewelry collection, expanding their brand beyond traditional sports merchandise. For a women-centered brand, jewelry makes perfect sense. Beauty product next?
Angel Reese Partnership: Bringing one of basketball's most marketable young stars into their ownership structure, complete with a dedicated merchandise line that capitalizes on Angel Reese's massive following and cultural influence. They’ve been Angel Reese fans; they’re still Angel Reese fans.
London City Lionesses Sponsorship: Taking their brand global by partnering with a professional women's football club in England, placing their logo on jerseys, and expanding their international footprint. They previously made a French version of their signature tee, and this is another step in the direction of global presence (ahem, or dominance).
These moves weren't just business decisions—they were calculated steps to solidify Togethxr's position as the premier brand in women's sports culture. As the WNBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations approach, Togethxr's business model and success provide compelling evidence for what many female athletes have long argued: women's sports have untapped market potential.
Several aspects of Togethxr's approach could influence the WNBA CBA negotiations:
Media Rights Valuation: Togethxr's success demonstrates the growing audience for women's sports content, potentially supporting arguments for higher media rights fees that would boost league revenue and player salaries
Player Marketing: Their approach to athlete marketing—highlighting personalities and creating authentic connections with fans—could inspire new approaches to WNBA player promotion and personal brand development rights within the CBA
Revenue Diversification: Togethxr's multiple revenue streams (media, merchandise, partnerships) provide a blueprint for how the WNBA might structure deals to maximize player compensation beyond traditional salary caps
Investment Thesis: By demonstrating that women's sports entities can attract significant investment and create substantial returns, Togethxr strengthens the bargaining position of WNBA players seeking equity options and investment opportunities
Event Prevalence: They hosted a watch party in Vancouver for the WNBA Canada game, and seem poised to increase their presence at women’s sports games on college campuses this fall.
While both Togethxr and Unrivaled represent athlete-led initiatives to advance women's sports, their approaches differ in notable ways. Unrivaled focuses on creating new competitive structures and opportunities within basketball specifically, while Togethxr has established itself as a multi-sport media and lifestyle brand.
This distinction matters for CBA negotiations because both models provide evidence of market demand, but through different avenues. Unrivaled demonstrates that alternative competition formats can attract viewership and sponsorship, potentially pressuring the WNBA to improve player compensation to remain competitive. Meanwhile, Togethxr shows that women athletes' influence extends far beyond game day, supporting arguments for expanded marketing rights and revenue-sharing models.
The Last Word 🥂
The NWSL player association was able to successfully negotiate a favorable CBA deal last year, but even Togethxr feels that their media rights deal was undervalued. Similar sentiments have been shared by those familiar with the WNBA media rights deal that was re-negotiated last year. I’ve seen more fans complaining about the lack of access to live games, despite multiple streaming subscriptions this year than last year. As the WNBA expands, the NWSL continues to rise in popularity, and women athletes continue to perform in ways that garner more attention, eyeballs, and partnerships, I’m curious if greater media and film partnerships will be more effective than brand partnerships?
Togethxr has done a great job with documentary short films, and Unrivaled is likely sitting on a wealth of footage and behind-the-scenes moments that could be more thoughtfully crafted into compelling, evergreen video pieces for YouTube and social media. With fans already holding up posters and making t-shirts that say “Pay them what you owe them” in response to the seemingly lackluster response from the WNBA to new terms and increased revenue sharing, we’ve seen that visual representation is more important than ever. Fan buy-in to player stories and narratives (like the Studbudz) is a close second. If the players are the products and the fans are the consumers, the WNBA can be, and likely will be, swayed by fan sentiment and player demands.
The WNBA dropped a collab with Offbrand earlier this month, signaling that they are trying to capture some cultural relevancy and are likely taking cues from the NBA more than we as fans realize at times. The WNBA has way too many players they can tell stories about, with not enough staff to meet the growing demand. They seemingly didn’t finish the two original series they started last year (still available in the WNBA league pass app, I believe), which goes to show that media and narrative dominance are probably outside of their current capacity, which leaves this gap wide open for Togethxr and other brands to fill. Can Togethxr, Unrivaled, and others rise to the occasion of leveraging their messaging and media platforms to positively affect current negotiations? My money is on the fans and the players, so I think the answer is yes. What do you think?
P.S. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s article, where I’ll be sharing my recap from the Seattle Storm vs. Chicago Red Stars game.
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