Till now, everyone’s been framing Unrivaled and Project B as threats to the WNBA, especially with Project B’s $2 million salaries luring stars like Nneka Ogwumike and Alyssa Thomas. But now, as per one analyst, flip that narrative upside down.

In her latest YouTube video, “The WNBA CBA Is Falling Apart,” Rachel DeMita issued a clear warning: those eye-catching paychecks rest on shaky ground that could easily give way.

“The players who are playing in these offseason leagues, the salaries that they’re getting in these offseason leagues, and the worth that these other leagues are determining that they are worth is because of how they play in the WNBA,” DeMita argued.

Sure, Project B and Unrivaled are offering paychecks the WNBA simply can’t match right now. Unrivaled’s 3×3 league had an $8 million salary pool last season, averaging about $240,000 per player, received $35 million in funding, and Project B is putting $2 million-plus on the table for top names. Compare that to the WNBA’s current max salary of roughly $214,000, and the gap is obvious.

But these huge numbers only exist because the WNBA built the stage in the first place. In 2024 alone, the league generated $136 million in sponsor media value, pushed player brand-growth programs, and helped teams pull in $76 million in sponsorship revenue. All of this is what turned WNBA players into recognizable, marketable stars that new leagues now want to invest in.

So, DeMita argued that if the WNBA falls into a lockout or loses stability, that platform disappears, and so does the momentum behind these new leagues. Without the WNBA’s visibility, sponsorship power, and cultural push, Project B and Unrivaled would struggle to sustain the same money, attention, and growth they’re promising today. And, well, she came with receipts.

From 1997 onward, the WNBA controlled the summer, and the EuroLeague filled the offseason. That era, though, is over. Athletes Unlimited arrived in 2022, Unrivaled followed last year, and now Project B is coming. But those two newcomers may want to take notes from AU and stay on their toes.

DeMita emphasized a major imperfection in offseason tournaments like Project B and Unrivaled. Their entire model is fragile because of small rosters, courts, arenas, and seating. Using Athletes Unlimited as an example, she explained that these leagues, even after 4-5 years, cannot emerge as more than options.

Also, with such limited roster spots, only the most marketable, high-profile athletes, whose visibility largely comes from the WNBA, end up receiving advantages. If the WNBA weakens, the pipeline of new talent feeding these leagues will shrink, and the players who aren’t at the top of the market will be hit the hardest.

“The most overlooked players, those who aren’t signed to these offseason leagues because they don’t draw as much attention and because roster spots are limited, will be the ones affected the most,” DeMita argued. “If you halt all of that and, for some reason, lock out this season or strike this season, I think you lose all of your leverage.”

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In a crowded sports landscape, it’s no shock that Athletes Unlimited still isn’t a household name. Yet, despite that, it has carved out attention by doing something unusual: running individual-score systems inside traditional team sports. AU now operates leagues in basketball, lacrosse, softball, and volleyball, and has structured its cap table to offer investors not just financial returns, but “social value.”

AU isn’t profitable, but its momentum is real. In late 2022, it secured its first outside investment, a $30 million raise led by Schusterman Family Investments alongside Kevin Durant’s 35V, David Blitzer, and Angela Ruggiero of the Sports Innovation Lab.

And, to be clear, AU never positioned itself as a rival to the WNBA. Its entire approach has been steady, patient growth. Its most prized asset is a rapidly expanding base of dedicated women’s sports fans, a segment that, Sports Innovation Lab research shows, holds tremendous commercial value in the long run.

Also, if the AU were playing tactical games, it wouldn’t be working to keep things stable during a potential WNBA work stoppage. In fact, CEO Jon Patricof has confirmed that the basketball league will not expand its rosters this coming season.

Looking ahead to 2026, the commitments are already rolling in. AU expects a record 70% of its players to come from the WNBA. The list already includes the likes of Isabelle Harrison, Sydney Colson, Alysha Clark, Lexie Brown, NaLyssa Smith, Odyssey Sims, Kia Nurse, Jaylyn Sherrod, Ariel Atkins, Aaliyah Nye, Te-Hina Paopao, Kiah Stokes, and Jacy Sheldon.

So, “offseason leagues folding” isn’t the real issue here. If anything, stars like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Alyssa Thomas have built personal brands that sometimes outpace the league itself. Fans will flock to the next best thing to watch their stars play if the WNBA heads into a lockout. Also, with each of these three offseason leagues offering something different than the other, the excitement is sure to evolve.

Yet DeMita’s final point still rings true.

AU has only 40 roster spots, and 15 are already filled. The league usually tries to balance WNBA and non-WNBA talent, but this year, most of the remaining 25–26 slots could easily be claimed by established W players. And sure, Unrivaled is eyeing an early expansion from six to eight teams and may add a relief player pool to support its six-player rosters. That shift alone could allow Unrivaled to employ more than 50 players in 2026.

But even if you combine the two leagues, roughly 50 players from Unrivaled and 40 from AU, that’s 90 jobs total. And next season’s WNBA will have 15 teams and about 180 players. In other words, these offseason leagues still only cover half of what’s needed. When Project B begins in November 2026, the spots will shoot to 156, which is still not enough.

Still, despite the bickering in the negotiations and the doubt getting stronger, Project B is not just waiting around. The fact that the league is in contact with Ogwumike and Thomas suggests that it is looking at the current situation in the WNBA as a chance.

Nneka Ogwumike’s Project B adds international stars as WNBA talks stall

DeMita cautions that Project B’s survival hinges on the WNBA, yet the fledgling league is pressing ahead with ambitious growth. On Friday, they announced equity partnerships with Kamilla Cardoso from Brazil, Janelle Salaun of France, and Li Meng from China.

The announcement was made right at 7 a.m. Saturday in China, a calculated strategy to take advantage of Meng’s huge fan base. Project B has the ambition of filling over half of its rosters with players from different countries at the time of its launch in November 2026.

Co-founder Grady Burnett was unequivocal about the league’s objectives: “This can’t be a minor league—you get lost as a minor league. It has to be the best basketball.”

That is the reason Nneka Ogwumike, Thomas, Jonquel Jones, and Jewell Loyd have already made their decision with such reported contracts of $2 million plus equity stakes.

The halted WNBA discussions have led to a new opportunity. Players are now weighing the backing of global investors for Project B against the risk of CBA discussions, where revenue sharing continues to be the deal breaker, and neither party is willing to compromise.

The timeline of Project B runs until April 2027, allowing for the WNBA’s May opening. However, if there is a clash with Unrivaled, it might result in the best players being drawn away, thus making the signing of international players very important to provide the high-class basketball which Project B has guaranteed.