Interest in professional women’s basketball is at an all-time high, and everyone wants to be a part of it. This year featured the first season of Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier that allowed players to stay in the U.S. in the winter while still making significantly more money than in the WNBA. Now, Project B is making waves as the next big league to offer WNBA players additional opportunities in the offseason after the 2026 season.
So far, not much is known about Project B other than that it will be a 5x5 league that will tour Europe and Asia, and that top players are expected to make seven figures in salaries and have equity stakes in the league. Nneka Ogwumike and Alyssa Thomas have publicly announced that they joined Project B, and other star-level players are expected to follow. The new league already threatens Unrivaled because of its schedule, but it could also become a problem for the WNBA if it entices players to value the WNBA and its lower salaries less.
Angel McCoughtry, a five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time scoring champion, already posed a question that the WNBA will have to navigate. “If you’re going to get paid five million, why put your body through playing in the WNBA?”McCoughtry asked on Good Follow.
The WNBA and the WNBPA are currently in the process of negotiating a new CBA. The two sides agreed to a 30-day extension to keep negotiations going after failing to reach a new deal by the October 31 deadline, but there haven’t been many updates since. That should change soon because the WNBA will have to keep up with other leagues and make sure that playing in the W remains the priority for the top players in the game.
Higher salaries and better opportunities may change players’ priorities
For the longest time, U.S. players have been playing pretty much all year round. They have been playing in the WNBA, which is widely viewed as the best league in the world, but still had to go overseas or join Athletes Unlimited to supplement their WNBA salaries. Playing year-round is difficult and comes with an increased injury risk.
If players can make millions of dollars playing in Project B, they may choose to sit out the occasional WNBA season to rest their bodies. The WNBA offers a lot of visibility and opportunities to grow, but that exposure will be less important if other leagues are offering salaries that reach several million dollars.
Players prioritizing other leagues over the WNBA would be detrimental for the W. International players, like Emma Meesseman, have frequently prioritized playing in Europe and international competitions over the WNBA, but for U.S.-American stars, the W has been the priority, and the league needs those stars to succeed.
The WNBA and its stars, many of whom built their brands in college long before going pro, are the reasons women’s basketball is experiencing such a boom right now. Nobody—players or league officials—wants to lose that momentum and set the WNBA back by focusing on other projects. After all, the WNBA has survived the many ups and downs of professional women’s basketball and there is no guarantee that Project B will be just as long-lived. The simplest solution to avoid WNBA players putting their trust in a new project seems simple: a new CBA that gives players higher salaries, revenue shares, opportunities to prepare for a future after basketball, and the best working conditions possible.