Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz are joined by senior writer Jay Busbee to discuss whether startup women’s basketball leagues like “Project B” and Unrivaled could upend the WNBA with a potential lockout looming. Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV.
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Video Transcript
Nka Okugike, the WNBPA president, has signed with Project B, A new women’s professional basketball league set to launch in November 2026.
Project B players will receive undisclosed salaries plus an equity stake in the league.
Project B.
League officials stated that 66 people will earn higher salaries than those now offered in the WNBA with potential for growth Lockout.
You have a great column out there.
On the ambitious plan of Project B.
What does it mean for the W, though?
Jay?
Uh, it means a threat.
It means a real, serious threat because the WNBA has spent so many years, So many decades now, it’s kind of the only game in town for professional basketball in The United States knew they were vulnerable.
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They were vulnerable to what tech industry would call disruption.
And you’re seeing that, You’re seeing it with unrivaled clarity, and now seeing another potential threat in this.
Project B, which is not, that’s not the final name; that’s a working title, That’s not the actual name of it.
This new endeavor, But the idea is very similar: to pay WNBA players a higher salary.
Give them an equity stake in the league, and expose them to it, Uh, a global audience, not just domestic one.
OK, Jay, so humor me for a second.
Obviously, if I were to start a league to Competing with the NFL?
That’s impossible.
There’s no way I could accumulate enough talent.
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To do it.
The league to compete against the NBA probably Also impossible.
But if I want to create a new league for women to play basketball in and take down W I could argue that all I have to do is offer a wild amount of money to.
I don’t know, ten players, then get everyone else to come in.
What prevents somebody from just coming in and saying, “Fine,” I’ll give Caitlin Clark $250 million upfront.
And I’ll build a whole league around her.
These 10 stars, and nobody’s gonna need the W. Man, I’m in with you.
If we can find someone to give us $250 million We should do that ourselves and start a third rival league.
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Uh, that’s exactly it.
And the WNBA is that.
That may be a sticking point for future contract and CBA negotiations.
Terms of playing in other venues.
The NBA doesn’t allow that.
The PGA Tour doesn’t let you do that.
But then, The WNBA.
Does, and as we’ve seen, many players.
Will go overseas to make money outside of the regular WNBA season.
Now, if the W is gonna say, hey, you can only play for us, They’re gonna have to make it financially worth the players’ while.
And that’s what the vulnerability is.
They haven’t done that.
And, therefore, there’s a huge vulnerability right there in terms of finances, That unrivaled project B is exploiting.
