Launching in 2026, the new league offers multimillion-dollar salaries and global tournaments. With stars like Nneka Ogwumike and Alyssa Thomas joining, Project B is set to redefine the game.
Women’s basketball is continuing to have its moment, and Project B is poised to invest billions to make it a movement. The newly announced global league isn’t just promising higher paychecks and equity stakes for players; it’s rewriting the rules of what professional women’s sports can look like when athletes are treated like partners, not just talent. And if you think athletes aren’t believing its potential, look no further than the likes of WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike and fellow All-Star Alyssa Thomas. In the last week, the vets announced they are signing on to play in the league, which has a targeted launch set for 2026.
Advertisement
It feels like this venture appeared from out of nowhere, but Project B is actually years in the making. According to The Athletic, Grady Burnett, a former executive at Google and Facebook, has been developing this brand alongside Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice for the past two years. It plans to tip off with six teams, each consisting of 11 players. Consider this a worldwide enterprise, as Project B will host seven two-week tournaments across Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
The timing of Project B’s announcement and the growing curiosity it sparked could not be more telling. Since the 2025 WNBA season closed with the Las Vegas Aces winning their third title last month, the league and its players have been locked into bitter collective bargaining agreement talks. In short, the players want better pay and benefits, including a higher share of league revenue, increased salaries, improved perks upon retirement, and upgraded resources for family planning. Players also want to standardize team environments with upgraded travel and facilities, and ultimately, sit alongside executives when it comes to future media rights discussions.
These demands aren’t out of the ordinary and, in fact, well overdue. From an audience perspective, ESPN shared in October that this was the most-watched WNBA season in network history, with record highs across the regular season, playoffs, and finals. Regular season broadcasts averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 6% year-over-year, while the postseason drew 1.2 million, the most since 1999. The 2025 Finals alone pulled 1.5 million viewers across four games (second only to last year’s record-setting series), while Game 1 between the Phoenix Mercury and Aces became the most-watched Finals opener in 28 years, with 1.9 million tuning in. Across 49 telecasts, the WNBA averaged 1.2 million viewers overall, marking the most-watched full season ever on ESPN networks.
Project B, Unrivaled and the New Women’s Basketball Economy
That kind of momentum is just what Project B is betting on. Record audiences are leading to higher ticket prices and brands are capitalizing on players doubling as influencers with unique sponsorships. They’re also burgeoning social media superstars, boasting more followers across platforms than some male counterparts earning substantially more than them.
Advertisement
Project B is stepping into that wave with an ambitious global play, promising a league built around equity, innovation, and player empowerment. One could argue it’s arriving not to compete with the WNBA’s status, but rather to capitalize on it, and maybe even accelerate an athlete’s potential to reach a more robust and diverse audience. Financial specifics remain a secret, but Front Office Sports reports player salaries begin at $2 million annually for Project B, with the promise of multi-year deals that could reach $10 million or more. For comparison, the WNBA is reportedly proposing a $850,000 maximum player salary in its most recent CBA conversations.
Because the W has been slow to pay the players what owe them, it’s forced athletes to think creatively on how to earn more without the league’s assistance. In January, Unrivaled Basketball tipped off its inaugural season and in addition to to paying all 36 participants at least $200,000, they were also promised additional income through equity in the league and a share of its overall revenue. After a successful Series B funding round, they’re now worth $340 million as of September.
Should Project B tip off as planned next year, it could run in roughly the same winter-to-spring window that Unrivaled currently occupies. That means Unrivaled may face intensified competition for elite talent, sponsorship dollars, and broadcast attention, as players and partners weigh two emerging leagues instead of one. Basically, Unrivaled’s clear offseason niche is now sharing the court, and the league will need to lean on its 3-on-3 format, women-in-leadership pitch, and advantages of playing stateside to keep its A-list commits intact.
Whether we’re ready or not, disruption is coming in women’s basketball.
Advertisement
Read More:
Adam Schefter Sees Potential Risk in Player Prop Bets as NFL Tightens Gambling Rules
Cade Cunningham Tells Kevin Durant the Detroit Pistons Should’ve Beat the New York Knicks in the NBA Playoffs
EXCLUSIVE: Cade Cunningham Joins LeBron, Durant, Giannis with Nike Signature Shoe
Cade Cunningham Opens Up to Kevin Durant on His NBA Journey, the Pistons Playoff Hopes, & Nike Signature Sneaker
Valentina Shevchenko, Zhang Weili to Move UFC 322 Forward in First PPV Since Betting Scandal
