The WNBA, a league already navigating turbulent waters, has just been hit by a “financial inevitability.” A seismic shift, long rumored, has now been given terrifying, concrete numbers by one of the sport’s own legends, confirming a truth the league may not be able to survive: its biggest stars, including Caitlin Clark, have a financial incentive so massive to leave that loyalty becomes a secondary concern.

The threat has a name: “Project B.” This “shadowy new entity” isn’t just another competitor; it’s an “economic earthquake.” While the WNBA has been dealing with internal strife, including recent controversial comments from Sophie Cunningham about fans, this external threat promises to reshape the entire landscape of women’s professional basketball by offering “unfathomable wealth.”

The bombshell details were laid bare by Angel McCoughtry, a six-time WNBA All-Star and a true league legend. Speaking on a podcast, McCoughtry—who just last year offered to be Caitlin Clark’s “enforcer” on the Indiana Fever—”laid out the cold hard facts” and confirmed the “writing is on the wall.”

The numbers she discussed are “breathtaking.”

Consider the WNBA’s max contract, which pales in comparison to its male counterparts. Now, juxtapose that with what Project B is reportedly offering. According to the discussion, Project B’s minimum salary will be a staggering $2 million. This isn’t a typo. It’s an “astronomical leap,” an almost 22-fold increase over top-tier WNBA earnings, for what could be an end-of-the-bench player.

As McCoughtry bluntly put it, who is going to turn that down? “If you’re going to get paid 5 million,” she posited, “why put your body through playing in the… WNBA?”

This isn’t just rhetoric; it’s a “fundamental challenge” to the WNBA’s entire value proposition. Why would any player endure the grueling schedule and physical toll for “relatively meager pay” when such a monumental alternative exists? It makes any sense of league loyalty appear, from a financial standpoint, completely irresponsible.

And the money doesn’t stop at salaries. Project B is reportedly “sweetening the deal” with something unheard of in established leagues: equity. Players won’t just be employees; they will be “stakeholders,” given a “slice of the pie” and a chance to own a piece of a league that could explode in value. This “irresistible proposition” transforms the offer from a large paycheck into a chance at true “generational wealth.”

If a bench player can command $2 million, the implications for the league’s superstars are “staggering.” McCoughtry speculated that a titan like A’ja Wilson could command “$8 million, perhaps even $10 million a year”—a multiple of 8 to 10 times her current WNBA earnings.

Then, there’s Caitlin Clark.

The “biggest name in women’s basketball,” Clark’s potential earnings from Project B are, as McCoughtry projected, “jaw-dropping.” The numbers floated were “$15 million, $20 million, even $25 million per year.” This scale of wealth would completely transform her life and legacy, offering a financial future the WNBA, in its current state, “could ever hope to offer.” To put this in perspective, a conservative $20 million annual salary from Project B would mean Clark could earn twice her massive Nike deal in just a few years.

This financial reckoning comes as McCoughtry simultaneously “shatters” a long-held myth used to prop up the WNBA and its new domestic competitors like Unrivaled: the idea that players prefer to stay in the United States.

For years, the narrative has been that players prioritize being home. McCoughtry, in her own words, “calls it BS.” She was blunt, revealing this “manufactured preference” is “largely a negotiating tactic.” The truth, she insists, is that players will go “anywhere for the right price.”

Speaking from “deeply personal experience,” McCoughtry recounted her “best experiences” playing overseas in places like Istanbul, Turkey. She described a “vibrant life of great food, rich culture, and legendary parties that last until 7:00 a.m.” This wasn’t a sacrifice; it was a “lifestyle upgrade.” The revelation from a respected veteran “demolishes” the idea that players are bound by geography. The WNBA’s leverage, it seems, has “completely evaporated.”

As the league grapples with this existential financial threat, it is also battling a fire within its own ranks. Sophie Cunningham’s recent “inflammatory comments” about fans have only “added fuel to an already explosive situation.” Cunningham suggested that fans “wrongly judge players” based on their “aggressive on-court play,” failing to see their “true off-court personalities.”

While she argued for fans to “get to know us players more,” her remarks sparked “significant backlash,” highlighting a “disconnect between players and the very audience crucial for the league’s survival.” While Cunningham tried to draw a line, admitting “dirty play” is different and does reflect on character, her initial “blanket statement” risked alienating a fan base already sensitive to the league’s public image problems.

This confluence of factors—the “perfect storm” of Project B’s astronomical financial pull, the shattering of the “stay-home myth,” and internal player-fan controversies—creates an environment where leaving the WNBA is “not just a viable option, but the overwhelmingly logical choice.”

The WNBA is now “battling on multiple fronts.” Its most valuable assets, from Caitlin Clark to A’ja Wilson, are seemingly “destined for other ventures.” The league is facing an “existential threat” unlike any in its history. Can it adapt, “drastically improve player compensation,” and mend its internal divisions? Or will the “siren song” of multi-million dollar contracts, equity, and a global lifestyle prove too powerful?

Right now, the “imminent departure” of players like Caitlin Clark doesn’t feel like a possibility. As the numbers confirm, it feels like an “unavoidable reality” poised to rewrite the future of women’s basketball forever.