In a few years, these CBA negotiations will likely be produced as a movie or a web show. Twists and turns seem to be the norm here. WNBPA President, Nneka Ogwumike, has officially become the first contracted player under the European/ Asian league Project B. The timing makes things a lot stickier. Ogwumike has signed for the proposed offseason league, right when there were some positive signs regarding the CBA negotiations. WNBA and the WNBPA recently signed a 30-day extension (but with a 48-hour opt-out clause). This move from Ogwumike could send those talks off the cliff, according to Rachel DeMita. 

“Project B is also an offseason league, but they have promoted themselves as a league that wants to rival the WNBA. When Unrivaled was coming out with their league, they always said that they don’t want it to compete with the WNBA.” De Mita said on the ‘Courtside Club’ podcast, “And the WNBA still doesn’t like that. Do you think for one second that the WNBA and its owners are going to be happy about this league?”

See, the WNBA has not publicly denounced the Unrivaled, yet. In fact, Cathy Engelbert has supported the concept. “I’m really proud of what [Unrivaled founders and WNBA stars] Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have thought through with that league,” she said in April. However, when the Unrivaled actually went to the WNBA for investment, they “chose not to do that,” according to Alex Bazzell.

If the WNBA doesn’t have a stake in Unrivaled, it is a type of competitor. It competes for player time, attention, sponsors, and potentially leverage in this CBA battle. Why would they be happy with that? The Project B situation is even more aggregated. It’s in the same format as the WNBA, offering even more money than the Unrivaled.

“This is something that we’ve heard through the grapevine that is going on in these negotiation talks for the new WNBA-CBA is that they don’t want their players playing in offseason leagues. Nneka has already signed up for an offseason league,” DeMita further said. She laid out the fact that needs little explaining. 

Assuming a scenario where the WNBA gives in to every one of the WNBPA’s demands but holds back on the prioritisation rule. Players are required to report to their WNBA teams by the start of training camp or by May 1 (whichever is later), according to that rule. If not, they are suspended for the entire WNBA season. There are limited exceptions, such as certain national team duties and early‑career exemptions that were built into the 2020 CBA. The players are pushing to loosen this rule in the next CBA or remove it altogether. But various reports indicate that the owners aren’t expected to budge.

In fact, the owners could push for a stricter rule. The widely cited problems with this rule were that international players are not attracted to the WNBA because of it. And the fact that the WNBA doesn’t pay enough. If the WNBA raises salaries and gives the players equity, that reason is not valid anymore. Maybe the players can push for an exception for national team duty, but not offseason league participation. The WNBPA President’s move could be read as a signal to the WNBA that she is not interested in bargaining anymore. The plot is not limited to Ogwumike. 

Alana Beard, the chief basketball officer for Project B, told The Athletic that the league has signed “multiple current All-WNBA players who have received those honors, young superstars who are on the rise, and players from four different continents.”It may narrow the zone of possible agreement on prioritization and offseason play, making a near‑term deal less likely absent concessions from either side. 

While we don’t have any official reports regarding the CBA talks collapsing yet, the threat is very real. Ogwumike might just be the breaking point for a WNBPA built on players tangled in conflicting interests.

Nneka Ogwumike’s Project B Move Exposes the WNBPA’s Deepest Flaw

There have been long discussions on the WNBA forum on how Napheesa Collier has a major conflict of interest. “It’s a total conflict of interest,” one league source told ESPN of Collier’s role as WNBPA executive committee member and Unrivaled co-founder. “Her husband (Alex Bazzell) runs the league that’s in competition with the W, and she has equity in it.” While the focus remained on Collier because she is one of the outspoken leaders in these CBA talks, fans forgot that the entire WNBPA leadership has the same issue, and Nneka Ogwumike was the last straw. 

“The president, Nneka, is now signed to Project B. Kelsey Plum is signed to Unrivaled and has equity in Unrivaled,” DeMita said while listing the WNBPA top brass, “Elizabeth Williams, Athletes Unlimited, which is a 5v5 offseason league. Brianna Turner, also Athletes Unlimited. Alisha Clark, also Athletes Unlimited. And then you have Napheesa Collier and Brianna Stewart, who are obviously the founders of Unrivaled.”

Admittedly, all three leagues have uniqueness of their own. Earlier this year, Athletes Unlimited refused to expand and capitalise on the precarious CBA situation like Unrivaled. “The focus or criteria of AU is: We want to provide a home for players … that have been in the W or trying to get into the W. So, we always have cast a wide net. But that’s where it’s heading this year,” CEO Jon Patricof said. The Unrivaled is a 3v3 league, not in the format of the WNBA. Series B is still a concept and is expected to launch in 2026, with its debut season from November 2026 through April 2027.

The entire WNBPA is in a grey area when it comes to CBA negotiations. Essentially, they have to look after the interests of the WNBA and the league they are associated with to which is next to impossible. And both Unrivaled and Project B offer much higher salaries compared to the WNBA. Despite no in‑season overlap, the compensation and equity structure reshapes offseason calculus. Nneka Ogwumike and Co. have a tough path ahead if agreeing to a CBA is their goal.