Ice Cube is making major moves, as the BIG3 boss has now announced plans to extend the basketball league to Houston and Miami.
The organization is currently in the process of transitioning from hosting games on the road to setting up bases across the country. To that point, teams are now up for sale and open to investments.
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“We need to plant our roots in cities so we can be more than a rolling all-star game coming through,” the N.W.A alum said after the first team was sold for $10 million in Los Angeles earlier this year. “It’s really about growing the sport and the league.”
Last month, businessman Heath Freeman purchased the rights to a franchise in Miami for the same amount mentioned above, which he is set to take over for the 2025 season.
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“I am honored to join Ice Cube and [co-founder] Jeff Kwatinetz at the BIG3 and bring a new professional basketball team to Miami,” he said at the time.
“BIG3 is shaping the future of basketball; the gameplay is dynamic and nuanced and the product on the court appeals to the audiences in this incredibly fast-growing region. Basketball fans across South Florida can rest assured that this franchise will soon add to our great region’s winning sports pedigree.”
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On Wednesday (July 3), Bloomberg reported that moguls Eric Mullins and Milton Carroll have acquired a third unit that will be stationed in Houston.
Prior to the deals mentioned about, Cube and Kwatinetz offered to sign Caitlin Clark to the league.
In March, the “No Vasoline” MC offered the rising star $5 million to join his establishment. However, she was picked by the Indiana Fever during the 2024 WNBA draft soon after for a four-year contract that reportedly totals to approximately $338,000.
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In an open letter penned by Kwatinetz and shared on the California native’s website, the two accused the prodigy’s agents of working for the “NBA mob.”
“We have reason to believe these male agents and executives controlling the sport never even shared our trailblazing offer with Caitlin let alone facilitated Caitlin meeting with the BIG3 to discuss the opportunity,” it reads. “From our perspective, these representatives don’t seem to work for an individual client like Caitlin. They seem to work for the NBA mob, as their client list is a who’s who of NBA players.
“Do we expect them to prioritize Caitlin over the NBA – the top employer of their most highly paid clients? The NBA commands by fear, and they make sure their industry of agents, lawyers, managers and networks stay in line. And that line is to prevent BIG3 success, even if it stunts the growth of women’s basketball. Amid current negotiations of critical NBA new media deals, you can imagine the pressure on the NBA feeder system easily trumps any of Caitlin’s or other promising woman players’ best interests.”
The public statement went on to describe the money she could have made by signing with BIG3, which would be far more than her current contract: “Ten million dollars of salary over two years, a percentage of team ownership worth millions, fifty percent of merchandising revenues from her name and likeness and ownership of a BIG3 documentary with a seven-figure advance. In total, we’re talking fifteen million dollars or more to merely play a ten-game season. While still allowing her to play in the WNBA.”
For her part, Clark appeared to brush off the offer soon after it went viral online.
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“To be honest, I found out about the BIG3 thing at the exact time you all did, and my main focus is on just playing basketball,” she said.
“I honestly don’t talk about those things with really anybody. I have other people that deal with it, and they haven’t said a word to me about it. My main focus is on this team and helping us find a way to beat Colorado and hopefully win another one after that.”
