What began as a passion project for Geoff Prentice and Grady Burnet turned into something much bigger the moment WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike signed on. Stars like Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas, and Kelsey Mitchell are already part of it, and naturally, fans have started wondering whether Caitlin Clark might be next. Well, one of her teammates has already answered…

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What did Sophie Cunningham say about Project B?

Sophie Cunningham is one of two Indiana Fever players set to take part in Project B this season, with Kelsey Mitchell being the other. She made it clear she’s excited for the opportunity and ready to jump into the new league.

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“Excited to join Project B’s athlete roster as they launch a new chapter in women’s basketball. Our game is exploding in popularity, and I’m all in on carrying that momentum forward in any way I can, both at home in the US and beyond,” Cunningham said, who is currently recovering from an MCL injury.

Did you know? Project B is a plan to launch a new 5-on-5 international basketball league for both men and women. The women’s league will debut first, featuring six teams with 11 players on each roster in a traditional 5-on-5 format.

Project B plans to hold seven two-week tournaments across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with the first season scheduled to run from November 2026 through April 2027. But the biggest attraction of Project B isn’t the format. It’s the pay structure.

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Women who join the league will receive an equity stake in addition to their salary. Project B also promises to pay more than the WNBA, which sits at $102,249 per season as per USA Today, and more than Unrivaled, which pays $220,000 per season for 2025.

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And according to FOS, multiple WNBA stars are being offered seven-figure salaries by Project B, starting at around $2 million per year, with multi-year deals potentially reaching eight figures.

So naturally, with new players joining almost every day, people are curious whether Caitlin Clark will be part of the league, especially now that it’s been officially confirmed she isn’t joining Unrivaled. Well, we finally have some news on that front, straight from Sophie Cunningham herself.

Will Caitlin Clark Join Project B — Revealed By Sophie Cunningham

On the December 4 episode of her Show Me Something podcast, Cunningham revealed she’s been trying to convince Caitlin Clark to take her talents to Project B, but hasn’t had any success.

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“I think there’s going to be a lot of people switching over,” Cunningham said. Her co-host, West Wilson, then chimed in with a lighthearted comment, “That’s right, Caitlin Clark! You have the W!”

That’s when Sophie finally shared the news everyone had been waiting for. “I tried to get [Clark] to play in this [league], and she was like, ‘No!’”

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There were also reports discussed by Rachel DeMita on her podcast that Caitlin Clark was reportedly offered a figure somewhere near the $50 million range. And that wouldn’t be surprising.

Project B is backed by elite venture capital and major growth investors like Mangrove Capital, Quiet Capital, and Sequence Capital. They are also supported by more than 40 influential tech investors worldwide, including Niklas Zennstrom, John Chambers, Merline Saintil, Ime Archibong, and Gabrielle Salzburg.

Unfortunately for Project B, money isn’t the deciding factor for the world’s richest women’s basketball star right now.

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Caitlin Clark is fully focused on her recovery and making sure she doesn’t go through a repeat of her sophomore-season injury struggles. No one wants to see her sidelined again. Maybe once she’s back to full strength, she could explore playing in Unrivaled or Project B, but at the moment, there’s no indication she plans to make that move.

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Akash Das

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Akash Das is an NCAA and WNBA Writer at EssentiallySports, where his bylines dive deep into the structural side of basketball. With a postgraduate diploma in Mass Communication and a Master’s in Sports Business & Management from the University of Liverpool, he grounds every feature in strong reporting fundamentals and academic rigor. His coverage tracks how coaching blueprints, roster construction, and roster moves, from the NCAA transfer portal to WNBA free agency, shape outcomes on the court. His sharp breakdowns at the WNBA desk earned him a spot in the outlet’s prestigious Journalistic Excellence Program, putting him among ES’ most trusted voices on basketball. Beyond box scores, Akash is driven by the bigger picture: how programs are built, maintained, and rebuilt in the NCAA pipeline, and how those systems intersect with the professional game. With experience across sports writing, research, and media strategy, he brings nuance to topics often overlooked in day-to-day highlights coverage. Whether examining the long-term vision behind a college program or the ripple effect of player mobility in the WNBA, Akash connects fans to the tactical and structural heart of the sport.

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