Project B Offers Women's Basketball Stars $2M+ Salaries

The carefully constructed equilibrium of women's professional basketball is facing its most significant disruption in decades. Project B, a newly announced global basketball league, has entered the arena with an unprecedented financial proposition: multimillion-dollar salaries that dwarf current industry standards and could fundamentally alter how elite players structure their careers.

A New Power Player Emerges

For nearly three decades, women's basketball operated within a predictable framework. The WNBA commanded the summer months since its 1997 inception, while EuroLeague teams dominated the fall, winter, and spring calendar. Recent years have seen this duopoly challenged by Athletes Unlimited in 2022 and Unrivaled in 2024, but Project B represents something different entirely, a globally ambitious venture backed by tech industry wealth and promising compensation that rivals men's professional leagues.

Founded by former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice, Project B announced in October its intention to host tournaments across Asia, Europe, and Latin America from November 2026 through April 2027. The league's structure, six teams with 11 players each competing in 5-on-5 format, mirrors traditional basketball while its financial model breaks entirely new ground.

On Friday, the league made its most strategic move yet, announcing Seattle Storm star and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike as its inaugural signee. The symbolism was impossible to miss: the very person negotiating on behalf of WNBA players has committed to a competing league.

The Numbers That Change Everything

Multiple sources confirmed to Front Office Sports that several WNBA players have already signed with Project B, with top stars receiving offers starting at $2 million annually. Multiyear contracts could push total earnings into eight figures, and like Unrivaled, players will also receive equity stakes in the league itself.

To understand the magnitude of this shift, consider the current landscape. The WNBA's supermax salary stands at $249,244, with minimum salaries falling below $80,000. While an October proposal from the league suggested raising the supermax closer to $850,000, even that figure pales in comparison to Project B's baseline offers.

"We're paying multiples higher than is available right now in the world of women's sports," Burnett stated last month. "We are paying the highest salaries and equity packages in women's team sports, and this will be some of the best players in the world. We want this to be incredible basketball."

Calculating the Threat

WNBA executives, speaking with Front Office Sports, expressed a mixture of curiosity and concern about the new league. While Project B's season doesn't directly conflict with the WNBA calendar, the indirect implications are substantial. The precedent already exists: Diana Taurasi famously sat out the 2015 WNBA season when Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg paid her more than her $107,000 WNBA salary simply to rest. At the time, she was earning $1.5 million overseas.

More recently, players like Emma Meesseman and Gabby Williams have missed WNBA time due to the league's prioritization rules, with Meesseman sitting out both 2023 and 2024 while playing for Belgium's national team and Turkish club Fenerbahçe.

Several WNBA executives interpreted Ogwumike's signing as a calculated pressure tactic during ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. The parallel to last year is striking: when union leaders Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart cofounded Unrivaled, both acknowledged the timing, just as CBA negotiations were beginning, was no coincidence.

With the WNBA and union currently operating under a 30-day extension through November 30, Project B's announcement lands at a particularly sensitive moment. The WNBA declined to comment on Project B's potential impact.

The More Immediate Competition

While the WNBA faces a potential long-term challenge, Project B poses a more immediate threat to Unrivaled and European leagues that occupy the same seasonal window.

Unrivaled has built its model on keeping players home year-round while offering competitive salaries, an average of $220,000 in its inaugural season, with increases since then, plus equity and superior amenities. Nearly 30 Unrivaled players are locked into multiyear contracts with exclusivity clauses during their playing months, potentially complicating any crossover with Project B.

"We're confident with what we've built in collaboration with our athletes, partners, and investors," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said in a statement. "We remain consistent in our approach to pay players competitively, provide a meaningful stake in the business, and keep them home year-round. We continue to be a player-first league that's additive to the overall women's basketball ecosystem and WNBA."

European leagues face similar scheduling conflicts. EuroLeague clubs currently accommodate players leaving for Unrivaled in January, but whether Project B would offer such flexibility remains unclear.

Notable stars like A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, Jonquel Jones, and DeWanna Bonner have not signed with Unrivaled, making them potential Project B targets. Meanwhile, players like Sabrina Ionescu, Jewell Loyd, and Angel Reese participated in Unrivaled's inaugural season but aren't on rosters for this winter, potentially opening the door for new opportunities.

The Money Behind the Movement

Project B's investor group reads like a who's who of athletic excellence: WNBA champions Candace Parker, Alana Beard, and Lauren Jackson, plus tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Sloane Stephens. Beard, who played eight seasons alongside Ogwumike with the Los Angeles Sparks, now serves as the league's chief basketball officer.

According to a Bloomberg report early this year, the league sought to raise $5 billion in funding. When asked in October, Project B declined to disclose how much capital it ultimately secured. Maverick Carter, longtime business partner of LeBron James, initially advised the group but has since severed ties with the venture.

An Uncertain Future

Project B's entry into women's basketball represents more than just another league, it signals a fundamental shift in how the sport's economics could evolve. Whether it delivers on its ambitious promises remains to be seen, but the league has already accomplished something significant: forcing everyone in women's basketball to reconsider what's possible.

As negotiations continue between the WNBA and its players, and as existing leagues like Unrivaled defend their positions, one thing has become clear: the days of predictable seasons and modest salaries in women's basketball may be coming to an end. The only question now is whether the sport's infrastructure can support this new reality, or if the bubble will burst before the first Project B game tips off in November 2026.

All image rights credited to Getty Images, access their website below:
https://www.gettyimages.com/