Ever since the first reports about a planned upstart international basketball league code-named Project B, questions have swirled about where its money is coming from.
Last February, the Financial Times reported the effort was backed in part by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. In October, Front Office Sports broke the news of the league’s temporary name and its list of athlete investors, including Candace Parker, Alana Beard, Novak Djokovic, and Steve Young. Maverick Carter, who was initially advising the venture, is no longer involved.
This week, WNBPA president and former WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike was the first player to sign with Project B. The news came as a surprise to many in and around the WNBA, and raised questions about the league’s Saudi backing.
Project B cofounder Grady Burnett, a former Facebook executive, says Saudi Arabia is not a financial backer.
“We’re building a global basketball league, so we want a global diversified cap table around us,” Burnett told Front Office Sports. “That doesn’t include any dollars from Saudi Arabia.”
While Burnett denies Project B is funded in any way by Saudi Arabia, including in the form of promised money if the league hits certain investment thresholds, there is a connection: Sela, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is an event partner of the league.
“We have partnerships with a lot of companies around the world,” Burnett said. “Sela is one event partner that we pay money to. We do not have any dollars coming from them. It’s a wholly owned subsidiary based in London that has done a ton of events globally, including the most recent big boxing events, the America’s Cup, a bunch of other global sporting events. They are a global partner of many people around the world.”
Representatives for Sela did not respond to a request for comment.
Following Ogwumike’s announcement, multiple WNBA sources questioned what it would mean for players to align in any way with Saudi Arabia, which has long been criticized for its human rights record.
One league source shared the opinion that it could limit the social impact players can have.
The WNBA has since its existence been considered an activist league. Throughout the course of its nearly three-decade-long history, players, executives, and coaches have used their platform to advocate for social justice issues ranging from marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights, to police brutality, racial equality, and voting rights.
In 2020, the WNBA dedicated its entire season to Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker who was shot and killed by police in Louisville, Ky. That same season, the players united in an effort to help elect Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate as a response to his opponent Kelly Loeffler, then a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, calling for the WNBA to drop its support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Less than a year later, the Dream were sold to a new ownership group.
Project B declined to share how much capital the league has raised. The league initially sought to raise $5 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg at the beginning of the year.
The league’s investors include Mangrove Capital, Quiet Capital, and Sequence Equity, along with a number of tech angel investors that Burnett said believe this league will have “tech-like promise and tech-like returns.”
The league, which will run from November through April beginning in 2026, is offering stars multimillion-dollar salaries, well above what they’re currently making in the WNBA. Players will also receive equity in the league. The WNBA supermax salary is $249,244, with the lowest-paid players earning under $80,000.
Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 startup cofounded by WNBPA vice presidents Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, paid players an average salary of $220,000 in Year 1, plus equity. Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said those salaries have risen, but declined to say by how much.
Project B plans to debut with six teams of 11 players that will play seven two-week tournaments across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It also says it will launch a men’s tournament in the fall in concert with the women’s. Burnett declined to answer whether the league has signed any players for the men’s league.
