After nearly a week of the extension agreement, the CBA situation between WNBA and WNBPA stands as it is. WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike broke the silence on the 30-day CBA extension as she highlighted that the association wanted to maintain the urgency.
While the Storm player talked about ‘urgency’, her next action would have caused a stir among the WNBA and even WNBPA members as she signed a contract with the ‘Project B’ league, the WNBA’s upcoming direct rival.
However, the move shocked many fans who thrashed the 35-year-old star for her decision.
Fans Criticize Nneka Ogwumike For Her Collaboration With Project B
During the CBA standoff, news emerged about a competitor league, Project B, which was looking to take shape and challenge the WNBA’s monopoly in women’s basketball. While the Saudi-backed league will also look to add men’s basketball to its fray, its primary target is women’s in the sport, looking at the WNBA’s current popularity and growth potential.
Former WNBA MVP and the WNBPA president has signed a contract with Project B, the first player to join the latest professional women’s basketball league. Interestingly, unlike the Unrivalled league, the new league will be similar to the WNBA and may even share dates (considering the expansion of the WNBA), making it challenging for players to participate in both leagues. This could hamper the WNBA roster badly.
Nneka Ogwumike, the WNBPA president, has signed with Project B, a new women’s professional basketball league set to launch in November 2026.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 5, 2025
Project B players will receive an undisclosed salary plus an equity stake in the league. Project B league officials have stated the 66… pic.twitter.com/986zF2dDFf
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Fans didn’t like the move, especially during the CBA standout phase. Earlier, a few fans blamed Napheesa Collier for the delay in CBA conclusions, and now they targeted the WNBPA president for the singing with the competitor league.
A fan called it ‘unprofessional’ and wrote, “Unprofessional. Stunningly unprofessional.”
Unprofessional. Stunningly unprofessional.
— CityGal (@citygal) November 6, 2025
The WNBPA is unprofessional and is actively harming women who want to play professional basketball. Clearly, there is a small elite class of players who’s grifting for a big payday for themselves – current and future players be…
Another fan wrote, “All these players are looking out for themselves.”
all these players are looking out for themselves. this league is cooked. disband the wnba and wnbpa and start over.
— Bootsie Ⓥ🧢🌺 (@BootsieNemo) November 6, 2025
One fan asked for Ogwumike’s resignation and said, “Nneka needs to step down from her role because of her conflict of interest.”
The WNBA is a terrible mess and Nneka needs to step down from her role because of her conflict of interest. Also she is a disgrace for taking Saudi money!
— Paul (@Rattlesnake7) November 6, 2025
Another fan wrote, “What happened all that cr*p and activism they was talking last year.”
😂😂 this is soo funny so what happened all that crap and activism they was talking last year about Caitlin fans being homophobic how is this gonna work with women’s basketball ? y’all can’t be gay in Saudi Arabia hello, oh I get it , it always was just about the money 😏
— Brady7seven98 (@brady7seven98) November 6, 2025
A fan roasted the league, too, and wrote, “WNBA is cooked.”
WNBA is cooked. They fumbled Caitlin Clark so bad, refs are terrible, players have no clue. Cooked
— Slowwaterdrifting (@Slowwaterdrift) November 6, 2025
One of the reasons for Nneka’s bold step would be the hefty pay that the new league is offering. Additionally, the terms of contracts are very similar to those in the Unrivalled league, allowing for a significant rise in earnings as the season progresses.
Nneka Ogwumike Eyeing Big Bucks At Project B
The main reason for the CBA deal standoff is the revenue-sharing proposals. While the WNBA and the WNBPA define ‘mode’ differently, new leagues are offering what the players are looking for – high percentage shares. As reported by FOS’s Annie Costabile, the starting salary for Project B will be a whopping $2 million.
“Those same sources said multiple stars are being offered seven-figure salaries starting at $2 million annually, with their earnings for multiyear deals reaching eight figures,” Constabile wrote in her post.
Project B is offering WNBA stars multi-million dollar salaries to play in the startup league, multiple sources told me.
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) November 6, 2025
So, what threat does the global league pose? And to whom? https://t.co/hTN1Twouby
Even though fans are calling the move ‘unprofessional’ and criticizing the veteran forward, this could be an alarming sign for the WNBA, who now look to seal the deal on or before 30 November after the new extension.