$2 Million Truth Bomb: Sophie Cunningham’s Defiant Project B Move Exposes WNBA’s Colossal Player Value Crisis
The landscape of professional women’s basketball has, for decades, been governed by an unspoken agreement: play hard, build the league, and accept that your pay will be a fraction of your male counterparts. That unwritten rulebook was just ripped to shreds by one of the WNBA’s most marketable, yet most polarizing, stars. In a move that sent shockwaves of excitement through her fan base and blinding fury through her critics, Sophie Cunningham has signed with Project B, the nascent international league offering its athletes a $2 million minimum salary [02:17].

This isn’t just a contract; it is a power play [01:26] that transcends the sport itself. It is the clearest, most undeniable statement yet that the market for elite female basketball talent is willing to pay sums the WNBA has persistently, and perhaps willfully, undervalued. The signing of Cunningham, a fiery guard for the Indiana Fever, is an indictment of the status quo and a sudden, existential threat to the WNBA’s long-term financial stability. It marks the moment when players finally gained the leverage to demand their true value, forcing the conversation away from emotional pleas and onto the hard figures of supply and demand.

The Rise of the Rival: Decoding Project B’s Unprecedented Offer
To understand the magnitude of Cunningham’s decision, one must first grasp the revolutionary nature of Project B. This is not another fleeting offseason side hustle. The league, set to launch in the fall of 2026, is a full-fledged, five-on-five traditional basketball league [02:09]. This detail is crucial; unlike the shorter, different strategic demands of 3×3 leagues like Unrivaled, Project B offers the sport its athletes have dedicated their lives to mastering [05:12].

Its structure is built for legitimacy and sustainability: six teams, 11 players per roster, running during the WNBA’s offseason [02:17], [05:32]. This means players have the freedom to collect their full WNBA salary and their Project B salary, effectively shattering the old concept of having to choose one career path over the other [05:38].

And then there is the money. The $2 million minimum salary is the number that exposes the WNBA’s greatest systemic failure. Last season, the WNBA’s supermax contract—the absolute ceiling for its most valuable players—was less than $300,000. Project B is offering a starting point that is more than six times the WNBA supermax [02:26]. How, observers are now asking, can a new, unproven league immediately recognize and pay a valuation that a 28-year-old established league has denied its players for decades?

The answer lies in the league’s serious investment backing. Project B is supported by names like NFL legend Steve Young and tennis superstar Novak Djokovic [02:32], adding instant credibility and business acumen. This signals a commitment to build a long-term product based on player value, not simply a quick public relations boost [08:13].

The Poetic Justice: Envy, Haters, and the Market Correction
Cunningham’s move is particularly delicious because of the context surrounding her WNBA season. All year long, as the Indiana Fever soared to unprecedented heights of popularity, a persistent, toxic narrative festered among critics and certain jealous fan bases. The narrative suggested that only one player mattered, and that the success of teammates like Cunningham and Kelsey Mitchell were merely the result of riding coattails [03:21], [04:26]. Critics spent more energy attempting to downplay Cunningham’s importance and tear her down than supporting their own stars [04:40], fueling a bitter internal war within the sport’s community.

Project B just delivered the most crushing and undeniable rebuttal to that narrative possible: a $2 million contract [03:35], [03:42]. You do not design a multi-million dollar international league around players who do not have value. You design it around marketable stars [07:52].

And Sophie Cunningham is undeniably one. She is officially the third most searched WNBA player on Google [04:13]. Let that data point sink in: she commands attention, she draws eyes, and she moves needles. She is a sharp-shooter with a distinct personality and a loyal fan base that loves her fiery presence [07:43]. Her signing, along with fellow Fever star Kelsey Mitchell [03:02], proves that their value was never dependent on any single teammate, but on their own genuine talent and fan appeal [03:14].

The reaction from those who spent the season attacking her has been predictable: instant envy [00:00] and furious silence [01:46], [04:26]. They are now watching the players they dismissed sign life-changing, generational contracts, while they are left to rage-post on social media for free [10:54]. It is a stark moment of poetic justice, proving that the market, ultimately, does not care about manufactured drama; it cares about value [04:56].

The Shifting Balance of Power: WNBA’s Unstable Future
The Project B player roster is quickly becoming a murderer’s row of talent, adding weight to the league’s competitive promise. Beyond Cunningham and Mitchell, the league has signed elite players such as Jewell Loyd, rising star Quju Watkins, and dominant center Kamilla Cardoso [05:47], [10:14]. These are not bench players; they are bonafide difference-makers who are all choosing the money, leverage, and respect that Project B is offering.

This influx of talent places the WNBA at a critical crossroads. The league is currently engaged in tense labor negotiations and has failed to offer a maximum contract over $1 million [06:35]. When players can point to an offseason league paying double the so-called max, the balance of power shifts decisively [06:50]. The organizations that have historically profited by underpaying women for years are now the only losers in this scenario [06:38]. More competition and more options benefit the players, granting them the power that only true market leverage can provide.

There is a separate, but important, ethical conversation surrounding Project B’s financial backing from a Saudi events company [08:07]. However, this debate, which raises concerns about “sports washing,” immediately pales in comparison to the economic reality faced by the athletes. It is exceedingly difficult to ask a professional, who has spent their entire career playing year-round for inadequate compensation, to turn down generational wealth for an abstract moral concern. The onus is on the WNBA to create a financial environment where its athletes are not forced to make such a choice.

The Looming Question: Will Clark Complete the Exodus?
While the immediate shock is focused on Cunningham’s audacious move, the entire sports world is still holding its breath for the answer to the ultimate question: Will Caitlin Clark be the next to sign with Project B? [09:45]

Clark is the name everyone is waiting for [09:45]. Her signing would instantly transform Project B from a legitimate rival into must-watch television [09:52], attracting crossover mainstream buzz that no other player can generate. The possibility of Clark securing a contract potentially worth upwards of $100 million has been widely speculated, demonstrating the astronomical valuation the market places on her global appeal.

But even without Clark, the league has built a roster full of stars [10:14]. The other names that would truly complete the league’s global dominance—A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese—are also out there, neither of whom is currently signed to the 3×3 Unrivaled league [10:00]. If either or both join, it would give Project B even more legitimacy, proving it is the destination for the best talent in the world.

For now, the story belongs to Sophie Cunningham. She has used her marketability and her talent to bet on herself and in doing so, she has issued a profound challenge to the WNBA: The old guard tried to keep women underpaid and undervalued. Now, the players are taking their power back and finally getting what they deserve [12:38]. Her move isn’t just about an individual paycheck; it is about the future of the game and who controls the narrative of value in women’s professional basketball [12:32]. The market has spoken, and its valuation is millions of dollars higher than the WNBA has ever admitted. The time for the WNBA to respond, hopefully with bigger checks, is now.