The ongoing WNBA CBA battle is back in the headlines, with several reports this week saying the league's latest proposal radically shifts current operating and scheduling practices.
According to sources, the front office is open to raising base salaries, but is simultaneously looking to cut previous guaranteed perks like team housing — a WNBA standard since 2016.
The league is also reportedly proposing an earlier start to the season, with training camp beginning as early as mid-March — directly conflicting with growing offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Project B.
Expanding the season on the front end also comes with several challenges — namely overlapping with the NCAA basketball postseason, which extends into April.
With the 2026 WNBA Draft set for Monday, April 13th — one week after the NCAA championship, in which top lottery picks will likely compete — a mid-March WNBA start raises questions about how incoming rookies would try-out and integrate into teams, with season rosters traditionally locked prior to opening day tip-off.
However, the latest WNBA CBA proposal does reportedly push maximum base salaries into the seven-figures while upping the minimum to more than $225,000.
With multiple players eligible for max payouts, the WNBA offer would see the average salary exceed $500,000 with salary caps expanding from $1.5 million to $5 million — though the proposal does not yet determine roster minimums.
Ultimately, the WNBA is entering this new CBA negotiating phase with its own interests in mind — but the threat of a lockout could push both the league and the players union closer to compromise.
Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.
Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.
Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.
The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.
Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.
With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.
Newly formed offseason league Project B is stocking up, with Phoenix Mercury star forward Alyssa Thomas becoming the second big-name WNBA player to sign with the overseas venture ahead of its anticipated November 2026 debut.
Thomas follows Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike in joining Project B, a traveling tournament-style competition reportedly offering players significant pay raises into the seven- and even eight-figure echelon — as well as equity stakes in the league.
Thomas will still feature in the 2026 season of Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball this January, with the launch of Project B expected to conflict with Unrivaled's third season in 2027.
With salaries reportedly topping both Unrivaled and the WNBA, Project B's funding sources came into question after Ogwumike's announcement last week.
In February, The Financial Times named Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund as a league investor, though Project B co-founder Grady Burnett denied those claims to Front Office Sports last week.
However, the league is working with event partner Sela, a known subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, though Burnett was quick to qualify that "Sela is one event partner that we pay money to. We do not have any dollars coming from them."
With the first season of Project B set to field 66 players, expect more high-profile signings to continue as the new venture adds to the increasingly crowded WNBA offseason space.
New offseason league Project B is raising more than eyebrows, with the international upstart reportedly far exceeding WNBA salaries as it builds out its pro women's basketball roster ahead of a planned 2026 debut.
According to Front Office Sports (FOS), Project B is offering athletes like inaugural signee Nneka Ogwumike multimillion dollar salaries, with indications that multi-year deals could see paydays reach upwards of eight figures.
Project B also gave the Seattle Storm star equity in the venture, putting WNBA stakeholders on edge as CBA negotiations continue to simmer Stateside.
Sources also reportedly told FOS that the budding league has already signed additional WNBA players.
While the winter league's F1-style tournament structure doesn't directly compete with the WNBA calendar, history shows that players will sometimes de-prioritized domestic league play if offered enough money to compete overseas.
One of the most notable instances of this occurred when now-retired superstar Diana Taurasi sat out the entire 2015 WNBA season after top EuroLeague side UMMC Ekaterinburg paid her $1.5 million to forgo that summer's competition.
Other offseason leagues are also making financial inroads that supersede the WNBA's current salary offerings, with 54 WNBA players set to take the Unrivaled 3×3 court in the winter league's 2026 season in January — including equity-holder Paige Bueckers.
Even more, big names like four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson, 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, 2024 champion Sabrina Ionescu, and two-time All-Star Angel Reese opted out of joining the 2026 Unrivaled season, leaving some speculating that seven-figure deals could see those stars instead eyeing a jump to Project B.
Ultimately, the reports of additional options for lucrative offseason contracts only increases the drama surrounding the US league's ongoing CBA negotiations, putting even more pressure on the WNBA to offer an attractive financial agreement to its athletes.
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike made waves on Wednesday, with the Seattle Storm star becoming the first player to join offseason league Project B — a new overseas pro women's basketball venture set to tip off in late 2026.
"There's so many different opportunities for players [outside of the WNBA] and that's always been the case," said Ogwumike. "This is just another one of those opportunities and I know that a lot of players are doing what they can to ensure that they can maximize on the short time that they have in their playing careers. This is my chance to be able to do that."
The Project B deal reportedly exceeds the 35-year-old forward's WNBA salary, with Ogwumike also receiving an equity stake in the fledgling league as part of her deal.
"It's not something that's usually offered to us, and by us, I mean women athletes," Ogwumike explained. "So for there to be an entry level of equity across the board was eye-catching. It's something that I stand for, obviously."
Headed by Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, Project B looks to field a total of 66 players across six teams.
The concept revolves around a Formula One-style event, with teams playing a traveling circuit of tournaments across multiple European and Asian cities before winners advance to compete for a world title.
Project B expects to run from November 2026 through April 2027, with all games streaming live.
"Basketball has never been just a game," said retired WNBA legend and early Project B investor Candace Parker. "It's culture, community, and connection. But for too long, players have carried the game without a real stake in its future. And women, especially, [are] asked to wait for change."
"Project B isn't waiting."