Maker’s Mark Is Betting You're Going to Watch and Love This New League

When Maker's Mark announced its partnership with Unrivaled, it turned many heads. It also elicited one obvious question:

Why is America's preeminent Kentucky bourbon partnering with an upstart women's basketball league?

For Maker's Mark, the move was easy. Like a wide-open layup; smooth like a bottle of Cellar Aged Maker's. For more than seven decades, Maker's Mark has gone against the grain, beginning in 1953 when it famously burned the family's 170-year-old recipe to enact a vision for better flavor and a better world.

In that same spirit, Maker's Mark is betting that Unrivaled -- the budding 3-on-3 league featuring 54 WNBA players -- will prove to be a magnetic force that draws men as a new legion of fans, while also introducing a new audience to the brand's bold signature sweetness and creaminess.

The proof is in the pudding.

A recent study found that 75 percent of men watch women's sports at least a few times a year, and men are more likely to be frequent viewers, with 23 percent watching weekly or more often compared to 15 percent of women.

Another recent study conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 3 in 10 U.S. adults follow women's professional or college sports "extremely," "very," or "somewhat" closely.

"What Maker's Mark has done throughout its renowned history is exactly what Unrivaled aims to do, which is carving our own path to create something better, and leaning into unreasonable ideas instead of shying away from them," said Unrivaled co-founder and Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier. "That's what makes Maker's Mark a perfect fit as our first Official Spirits Partner. We're grateful for their support in our continued pursuit of making the unreasonable a reality for women's basketball."

Unrivaled, co-founded by Collier and New York Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart, is player-owned and provides players equity for a vested interest in the league. After launching in January 2025, the league found resounding success, especially among fans who enjoy the games at the 850-seat Sephora Arena in Miami. The league also struck a TV rights deal that broadcasts games on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max.

The arena features multiple studios players can use for their podcasts, a glam room, wellness lounges, a kids' playroom, and even a nursing room for players' children, all of which are rooted in the same Maker's Mark spirit to strive for a better world.

Debuting this year in Season 2 for Unrivaled is also a Maker's Mark VIP Loge Box at Sephora Arena, offering an elevated experience, literally and figuratively. On the heels of its growing popularity, the league is hitting the road later this month with a showcase in Philadelphia.

Added Rob Samuels, eight-generation whisky maker and managing director at Maker's Mark, "My grandparents broke with tradition to reimagine what bourbon could be -- a perfectly unreasonable spirit that endures today. Beginning with co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, Unrivaled shares that same spirit, and we're delighted to shine a light on their community of players who prioritize passion and purpose on and off the court."