Cassandra NegleyWomen's basketball reporterWed, November 26, 2025 at 5:08 PM UTC·8 min readWhile negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement remain ongoing this week ahead of the Nov. 30 deadline, players are preparing for their offseason playing commitments. And the heat is rising as Project B, one of the latest entries to the women’s professional basketball landscape, continues to announce top talent ahead of its late 2026 launch.
The WNBA and the players union have until Sunday to make a deal on a CBA, agree to another deadline extension or enter into a status quo period where they can carry on negotiating in good faith without a work stoppage. The headline issue is salaries and the revenue-sharing structure. The league’s recent proposal includes a maximum salary of around $1.1 million that consists of a max base salary and additional potential revenue sharing, a league source confirmed. Negotiations remain ongoing and updated proposals have been exchanged, a source told Yahoo Sports.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe players union reportedly does not see that offer as moving negotiations forward, leaving a work stoppage on the table as a possibility. Players have been vocal about their main priority, negotiating weight and options throughout the process.
“We know that we have so much leverage so that you either [we] make you share the money or you can make no money,” Isabelle Harrison, a veteran of the WNBA and Athletes Unlimited Basketball, told Yahoo Sports earlier this month. “So, what's going to be the best option here?”
A major bargaining chip at their disposal is the array of offseason leagues available. A large contingent of WNBA players is already at their overseas commitments, and more than 77 players with W experience are preparing for games at Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited Basketball at the start of the new year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThree of the WNBPA’s executive committee members hold equity in other leagues. Nneka Ogwumike, in her third term as WNBPA president, was the first to publicly sign with Project B, a global 5-on-5 league started by tech founders with a late 2026 start date. Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, co-founders of the 3-on-3 Unrivaled league, are WNBPA vice presidents. Some WNBPA team player representatives, including Harrison, have equity or are executive members in other leagues after transitioning away from overseas play.
The 2020 CBA introduced the “prioritization” clause at the behest of team owners who wanted players to prioritize their WNBA commitments. Before the WNBA’s launch, the nation’s best players began overseas careers after college and continued doing so during the WNBA offseason. The clause required rostered players to arrive at training camp on time from their overseas teams, or be suspended for the season.
Players said this summer they heard the WNBA and its team owners could be trying to completely eliminate player participation in other leagues. Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams, the face of the clause over the years, said after a meeting in July at All-Star weekend that “it’s very clear” the league wants to “push Unrivaled out, push AU out.”
Project B has since entered the fold. As of Tuesday, nine WNBA players have said they’ll play, including Nneka Ogwumike, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Alyssa Thomas, Kelsey Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham and Kamilla Cardoso. They intend for a 66-player, six-team league, running from November to April — directly leading out of and into the WNBA season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMitchell and Thomas will play in Unrivaled in January before joining Project B next fall. The addition of the new league adds a new wrinkle to the ever-changing landscape of the WNBA offseason.
“We’re confident with what we’ve built in collaboration with our athletes, partners and investors,” Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said in a statement last week to the Associated Press. “We remain consistent in our approach to pay players competitively, provide a meaningful stake in the business and keep them home year-round.”
Unrivaled players will begin reporting to Miami for the league’s second season on Dec. 12. The league expanded to an eight-club, 48-player league featuring 21 of the WNBA’s top 30 scorers. The 2026 season begins on Jan. 5 with games every day Friday through Monday, airing on TNT Sports Networks. Twenty-seven players returned, many of whom have spoken highly of the ability to stay centered at a time when they would usually go dark or have to play overseas.
“The players were very vocal about how they took care of them, from the professionalism of everyone involved, to the childcare, to all of the other aspects of Unrivaled that really matter for the players,” Noelle Quinn, the former Seattle Storm head coach in her first year at Unrivaled, told reporters on a video call last week. “And because of that, you see it flourishing and thriving. And you’re seeing a lot of athletes still a part of it and wanting to continue to play here and grow here. Grow the game, grow their brand.”
AU Basketball tips off one month later on Feb. 4 in Nashville, where 40 players compete for an individual title as part of the fantasy sports format. The league, which airs on ESPN Networks, landed its most decorated player to date when it signed Tina Charles, the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder and second-highest career scorer, in September. But AU has largely billed itself as more than just an offseason playing home for WNBA stars.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We're welcoming all of the professional women's basketball landscape,” AU vice president of basketball operations Megan Perry told Yahoo Sports in August. “The WNBA is a big part of that, but we see it as we're really working and complementing to help shape the entire ecosystem, everyone, depending on where you are on the spectrum in your basketball journey. But we're embracing all of it.”
The 5-on-5 league drafts new teams weekly and follows the success of its softball league. It was the first domestic professional league to launch as an offseason home for WNBA talent since National Women’s Pro Basketball (NWBL) folded in 2007.
“Most people didn't think we would make it past year one,” Harrison told Yahoo Sports earlier this month. “They didn't think that this would be something that would help. So to now see how AU was kind of the catalyst for these other leagues popping up around the states, it's a pretty big deal. I don't think people really talk about it, but it's definitely how AU has been influential. And I wanted to be a part of something with influence.”
AU has served as a launching pad for WNBA opportunities and success. NaLyssa Smith won the 2023 AU title and, after two pivotal trades, won the 2025 WNBA championship in Las Vegas. Allisha Gray, the 2024 AU champion, grew into an MVP candidate in Atlanta. And reigning champion Maddy Siegrist is one of a handful of players lingering around the WNBA’s Most Improved Player conversation. Veronica Burton and DiJonai Carrington both won MIP honors after AU seasons.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe gold standard remains Sydney Colson, a member of the AU Player Executive Committee along with Harrison and Lexie Brown. The three have signed for every season of AU. A seven-year journeywoman, Colson did not make a WNBA roster in 2021. In AU’s inaugural 2022 season, WNBA scouts saw her perform against “really, really good” W talent that first year in Las Vegas. Aces head coach Becky Hammon signed her to a training camp contract and five years later, she’s a two-time WNBA champion.
“That wouldn't have happened [if] it wasn't for the emergence of this league,” Colson, who will not be active while rehabbing a torn ACL, told Yahoo Sports. “I'm constantly giving credit to AU. … It was just a door, a way for me to get my foot in the door to eventually show I can also still play. That’s been the situation for a lot of people.”
Harrison maintained in a conversation earlier this month that players need to stay relevant and "connected to the world” during the lengthy WNBA offseason, a challenge met by alternative leagues for the betterment of all parties. Players Yahoo Sports spoke with this season said WNBA salaries would need to rise significantly for them to consider forgoing other leagues.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs the domestic leagues prepare for tip-off, players believe it will be a boost to the WNBA, not a detriment to it.
“You need leagues like AU to be able [for fans] to continue to connect with your favorite players, to their stories, [to] access them through various platforms, I think that’s important,” Harrison said. “So when it comes to the CBA, I just hope they look at that and are proud, and see that we actually really care to be part of the W. We want to grow even more, but we need your help to finally invest [in] what we think is going to be best for us.”
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