Last month, when asked about joining Unrivaled, Angel Reese shared, “Nobody wants to go overseas. A lot of us never want to have to go overseas, but some people do have to go overseas, unfortunately. So being able to make six figures within three months…” Nearly a month later, another rookie seems to be on board with the idea — Rickea Jackson.
On September 3rd, Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson was announced as the 18th player in Breanna Stewart’s Unrivaled league. In the process, she became the second rookie to join after Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese.
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RICKEA JACKSON IS UNRIVALED👑 18/30✅ WHO’S NEXT⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zY5bATUjyw
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) September 3, 2024
The claims of minimum offerings to be at $250,000 per player could mean significant to the LA Sparks rookie whose current earnings stand at $76,535 with the WNBA. Besides, it will also be an opportunity for Jackson to showcase her skills for 8 weeks alongside 29 other players across six teams.
The league will be based in Miami from January to March, lasting eight weeks over the WNBA off-season. Unrivaled also ensures equity in the league to its inaugural participants that the players can profit from in the years to come if all sails well.
However, Rickea Jackson isn’t the only one benefiting from being on the list.
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Unrivaled also has a motive for signing Rickea Jackson
What’s your perspective on:
Despite a $76K salary, will Rickea Jackson's talent and Stewart's support propel her to stardom?
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“Any person that you can think of, that is the best in the [WNBA] that you think is a great player, we’ve gone after them,” Napheesa Collier had said. Well, that is proof enough that Jackson finds herself alongside the biggest of names in the WNBA now. But her stats and Sparks HC are only here to reason further.
The fourth overall pick by the Sparks this season, Rickea Jackson averages 12.6 points with an impressive shooting accuracy of 46.6%. According to Curt Miller, Jackson “brings a lot of buzz” to the team. “And so she gets the loudest applause when we do the starting lineups out in LA. She’s really, really popular.” he shared.
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With a three-point shooting percentage of 37.2%, Jackson is the most efficient among Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and herself. She is also the second lead scorer for the Sparks, putting up a performance of no less than 13 points since early July. “She’s going to be a special one,” Miller adds, emphasizing her confidence.
Jackson isn’t the only rookie who could drive interest in Unrivaled. Certainly, adding names like Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin, who’ve had top-selling jerseys so far, might turn heads. However, according to Collier, there are only four rookie spots, and now two of them are already filled. What do you think? Will Clark and Martin get their names on the list? Stay tuned to find out!
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Despite a $76K salary, will Rickea Jackson's talent and Stewart's support propel her to stardom?