“Player. Partner. Owner.” That’s the message Project B has stamped on every single one of its signees so far. From Nneka Ogwumike and Alyssa Thomas to the Fever duo of Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham, every player joining the league is being treated as a shareholder. One of the biggest demands from players in the ongoing CBA battle has been real revenue sharing, something leagues like Project B and Unrivaled are already offering. That’s why one analyst suggested that if Project B somehow lands a superstar like A’ja Wilson, the momentum in the CBA negotiations could swing sharply in favor of the players’ union.

Analyst Kalia Butler discussed this on the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball. She explained how Project B could influence the current CBA talks, saying:

“I always bring this up, how players can utilize this and kind of use this as an advantage when it comes to CBA negotiations. Because all these players are also essentially — and it’s in all of their Instagram posts too — it’s like player, owner, participator,” the analyst said. “They make it very clear that all of these players are also part of getting a cut of money from developing this league, which is exactly what the WNBA is trying to do in terms of revenue sharing. So very curious to see if you can get some other heavy hitters to join this. Like this is me just throwing names out there, but if you have an A’ja Wilson that joins and a Napheesa Collier that joins, I’m sure the WNBA is going to be like, ‘All right, well, I guess we’re going to do that revenue sharing.'”

Of course, having a premier superstar in your league, especially if that superstar is the reigning MVP and arguably the greatest player to grace the sport in A’ja Wilson, would be a massive needle-mover. But it’s hard to imagine Napheesa Collier ever making the jump to Project B. She’s the co-founder of Unrivaled, and starting next year, the two leagues will technically be in direct competition since their schedules will overlap.

But we’re not here to compare Unrivaled and Project B. The real focus is on how the rise of these leagues could actually help WNBA players get what they’ve been fighting for in CBA negotiations. Both Phee and Stewie — along with Project B co-founder Alana Beard — have made it clear they don’t intend to compete with the W. So, for the players, the priority right now is still the WNBA.

The latest offer from the WNBA features a maximum salary that crosses the $1.1 million mark — and teams would be allowed to give that figure to more than one player. The league minimum would rise to over $220,000, with the average salary going past $460,000. All three numbers would grow at a faster rate over the length of the new CBA than in previous agreements, marking the league’s attempt to keep pace with the sport’s rapid rise.

But the union isn’t buying it. They don’t believe the current proposal actually guarantees that the advertised $1.1 million max salary will ever become a realistic, year-to-year number for players. Instead, the WNBPA argues that the deal fails to match salary growth with the league’s own growth, which has been skyrocketing in viewership.

Of course, the next step in this would be for Project B to sign a superstar like Wilson so that they could put on more pressure, but that doesn’t look likely…

Why A’ja Wilson might never join Unrivaled or Project B

Last year, when Unrivaled dropped its inaugural roster, A’ja Wilson was one of the few superstars noticeably missing from the list. Was she playing overseas? Nope. Was she juggling another sport like Caitlin Clark? Not as far as we know. So what kept her out? She just wanted time to rest and recover.

“I like to enjoy my offseason,” she told Lucy Feldman of Time.”That’s my time to really just decompress. Unrivaled seems great. My teammates are loving it. Obviously, the money in it is amazing. And it’s like, ‘Dang, missing out.’ But wholeheartedly, not even trying to front—I just didn’t want to. I just want to protect my peace. Because once the season gets in, no one’s gonna think, ‘Oh, you just got done playing Unrivaled, let’s take it easy.'”

Recently, Wilson was spotted in Miami alongside her boyfriend Bam Adebayo, helping distribute Thanksgiving meals to families in need. For A’ja, the offseason isn’t about packing her schedule with more games or commitments. It’s her time to step away from the grind, reset mentally and physically, spend time with the people she loves, and give back to the community that continues to embrace her.

But not getting A’ja Wilson isn’t the end of the world when it comes to the CBA negotiations. Project B can still influence the talks in a big way because of its schedule. The league is set to run from November 2026 to April 2027, and with the W season usually starting in May, it’s easy to imagine a future where those timelines begin to overlap.

And if that happens, the result could be catastrophic for the W. Players would be forced to choose between leagues, and why wouldn’t they consider a league reportedly offering around $2 million in salary, as per Front Office Sports? Cathy Engelbert and co need to come up with a solution fast. If they don’t, the future of the WNBA could look very different in just a few years.