The "Project B" League Is Signing Players For Nearly Ten Times The WNBA's Max Salary

The WNBA is currently in labor negotiations with its players. The biggest issue on the table is agreeing on salary. Diana Taurasi, one of the biggest WNBA stars ever, had some choice words earlier this year about how the league pays it's players. The league's supermax last year was $249,244, and though players have asked about $1 million (or more) salaries, the WNBA so far has not relented. It's top proposal has maxed out at $850,000, with a veteran minimum around $300,000.

As a result, several WNBA players have also joined a new international league simply known as "Project B." The plan for the league is to have 5-on-5 women's and men's tournaments from November to April, and they're offering enticing deals to players to join.

So far, the players are receiving equity in the league, plus annual salaries worth more than $2 million—that's nearly ten times as much as the WNBA's current supermax. For players signing multi-year deals, Project B contracts are sometimes topping eight figures.

Sophie Cunningham (L) and Kelsey Mitchell (C) are two of the WNBA players committed to the new Project B league. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is the latest player to join the Project B roster. She's the ninth player to publicly announce her participation. There are some massive WNBA stars involved with the league, too, including Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, and Cunningham's teammate Kelsey Mitchell. Other current and former WNBA players headed to Project B include Kamilla Cardoso, Li Meng, Jewell Lloyd, and Janelle Salaun.

Ogwumike is the current president of the players union and a former MVP, winning one with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She's regularly among the top players in the league. Jones won MVP with the Connecticut Sun in 2021, while Thomas and Mitchell both finished in the top five in MVP voting this past season.

Cunningham tore her MCL in August and missed the remainder of the season, but Project B is still excited to have her onboard.

It's not entirely clear how much money Project B has raised—and where that money has come from. Project B founder Grady Burnett told Front Office Sports that Saudi Arabia hasn't contributed any money, despite claims to the contrary from the country's wealth fund. Singapore's sovereign wealth fund has also expressed involvement with the league.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has given large amounts of cash to numerous athletes across different sports. Most notably, the LIV Golf league lured several players away from the PGA Tour with staggering money offers. Burnett said, "we do not have any dollars coming from" the PIF. However, Sela, a subsidiary of the PIF, is an event partner of Project B, so the league pays money to that company.

We do know several sports stars are also investors in Project B, including Candace Parker, Steve Young, Novak Djokovic, and Sloane Stephens. Will the league rival the WNBA? That remains to be seen, though Project B is certainly giving the incumbent a run for its money.