Project B is a new league in Women’s Basketball that combines popular players in the United States with other countries— including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This league is similar to other Women’s Basketball leagues such as the WNBA, Unrivaled, and EuroLeague. Expected to begin in November 2026, Project B is already beginning to contact skilled players to sign future contracts, including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. In addition, Project B is beginning to write contracts that will begin to close the large pay gap between men and women’s basketball. The NBA’s average salary is around 11 Million dollars—this is ridiculously large compared to the average 102k-148k WNBA salary. This begs the question: “How will the WNBA be affected, and what should fans expect?”
Caitlin Clark, a 23-year-old basketball player, transferred from University of Iowa and currently plays for Indiana Fever. She was the 2024 #1 Draft Pick and since has broken a multitude of records in the WNBA and NCAA, such as All-Time Leading Scorer in both Men’s and Women’s basketball with a total amount of 3,951 points. With a career as promising as hers, it is no surprise that she has multiple offers from several leagues. Clark has been rumored to get a contract offer from Project B with a salary of 2 million dollars. This is a large increase of money, seeing as Caitlin Clark makes approximately $78,000 in 2025. Unrivaled, the WNBA’s major rival league offered Clark approximately 1 million dollars to join for one season, but Caitlin refused the contract. Many fans are intrigued to see if doubling the amount of money, and bringing international players to the game, might sway her opinion. However, it is possible for Caitlin Clark to remain in the WNBA and play for Project B. This is because Project B is during the WNBA offseason, but players must fulfill all contract requirements before the WNBA training camp. Consequently, with Project B’s large salaries, it may affect players' future negotiations with the WNBA.
The expansion of the WNBA and women’s basketball as a whole is truly inspiring. With more leagues comes more competition, opening opportunities for players to earn more money and slowly closing the gap of salaries between men and women.