With the WNBA’s new collective bargaining settlement now full, the W’s gamers proceed to develop their presence far past the hardwood. As we speak’s WNBA stars usually are not simply athletes, they’re manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and cultural figures entering into areas traditionally dominated by others.
The most recent instance comes from the enduring Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit Concern, which is able to function WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Sophie Cunningham, plus monitor and discipline standout Melissa Jefferson-Wood, in its 2026 version.
The athletes lately made their method right down to Fort Myers, Florida, the place they have been photographed on the South Seas Resort on Captiva Island. The enduring journal is ready to be launched in Might.
Napheesa Collier, Sophie Cunningham and Melissa Jefferson-Wood are set to be on SI Swimsuit 2026 Athlete Shoot.
🎥: @SI_Swimsuit pic.twitter.com/zzYfh6QBeW
— Athlete Vainness (@AthleteVanity) April 8, 2026
What This Means
For WNBA gamers, these kinds of alternatives are a part of a rising development the place girls athletes have gotten multi-dimensional manufacturers past their sport. Whereas the CBA has helped push monetary progress, these alternatives spotlight the W’s rising visibility, which is able to result in extra income and alternatives off the court docket.
Cunningham captured that mindset finest within the behind-the-scenes footage with Sports activities Illustrated,
“I actually assume, go kick ass out on the court docket after which go kick ass out in the true world being a girl who is powerful, who’s highly effective and has the mindset that she will do something.”
WNBA gamers are constructing wide-reaching manufacturers that resonate in vogue, media, and enterprise.
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The Greater Image
Girls throughout sports activities are leveraging elevated visibility, social media affect, and evolving league constructions to create alternatives that reach properly past competitors. Opportunites such because the Sports activities Illustrated Swimsuit Concern are now not nearly aesthetics; they’re about possession, empowerment, and increasing what success seems like for girls in sports activities.
These doorways for brand spanking new alternatives will proceed to open, and for the ladies athletes what’s transpiring presents hope, aspiration and creating optimistic position fashions for the younger girls who look as much as them.
