Phoenix Mercury All-Star Forward Alyssa Thomas is the latest WNBA All-Star to sign with Project B, a women’s basketball startup league set to launch in Europe, Asia and Latin America in November 2026.
Project B announcement On Tuesday, Thomas will join the league as a “player,” “partner,” and “owner,” underscoring the league’s commitment to offering unprecedented salaries and equity ownership in the startup. In a social media video shared on the league platform, Thomas said she “can’t wait to join Project B.”
Advertisement
Thomas is the second player to join the startup league founded by former Facebook executive Grady Burnett and Skype co-founder Geoff Prentice. Seattle Storm forward and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike was the first.
Project B, which will be made up of six teams of 11 people, will be played on a traveling circuit, similar to that of F1, golf and tennis. The league’s main selling point is the promise of paying higher salaries than the WNBA ($66,079 to $249,244 per season) and Unrivaled ($220,000 per season). Front Office Sports Reported these player contracts will reach seven figures and start at $2 million per year.
PROJECT B: Nneka Ogwumike joins startup league, scheduled to launch in 2026
Advertisement
Project B is the latest basketball league created in addition to the WNBA, after the 3 on 3 Unrivaled which played its first season last winter. Like Unrivaled, Project B has focused on player compensation, which remains a point of contention as WNBA players continue to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with the WNBA.
Thomas led the Mercury to the 2025 WNBA Finals in her first season in Phoenix after posting a league-high eight triple-doubles in the regular season. Thomas has signed up to compete in the second season of Unrivaled, which premieres in January. She will be a member of the Laces.
According to ESPNthe Project B season will run through April 2027 and will not overlap with the WNBA season.
Contributor: Heather Burns
Advertisement
The USA TODAY app quickly immerses you in the heart of the news. Download for award-winning cover art, crossword puzzles, audio narrations, e-journal and much more..
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Alyssa Thomas is the second WNBA player to join the Project B startup league
