{"id":226112,"date":"2025-10-20T04:57:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T04:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/226112\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T04:57:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T04:57:19","slug":"lebron-james-associate-planning-wnba-rival-launch-amid-financial-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/226112\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James’ associate planning WNBA rival launch amid financial uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new women’s basketball league could be launched to rival the WNBA, with LeBron James’ business partner Maverick Carter reportedly exploring the possibility<\/p>\n

Joseph McBride US Sports Reporter<\/p>\n

06:15 ET, 18 Oct 2025<\/p>\n

\"MaverickMaverick Carter is reportedly pursuing a women’s basketball league which could rival the WNBA.(Image: 2024 Kevork Djansezian)<\/p>\n

LeBron James’ business associate, Maverick Carter, is reportedly considering the establishment of a women’s basketball league to compete with the WNBA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, ESPN reported that Carter was contemplating the launch of a new $5 billion international men’s basketball league to challenge the NBA<\/a>. However, Carter has since withdrawn from that project and shifted his focus to women’s basketball.<\/p>\n

The WNBA is currently in a challenging phase, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert under scrutiny <\/a>as players push for a significantly improved collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier criticized Engelbert and the WNBA in a four-minute statement, and Carter may establish a competing league.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Patriots rookie fulfilling promise he made to Drake Maye before NFL season<\/a>READ MORE: Eagles face fresh attack over tush push as Micah Parsons makes feelings crystal clear<\/a><\/p>\n

ESPN reports that Carter has stepped back from the international men’s basketball league initiative known as ‘Project B,’ and women’s basketball is now his main concern. Representatives confirmed that a women’s basketball league to rival the WNBA was the new vision.<\/p>\n

Details about the proposed league are still under wraps, but James<\/a>‘ agent, Rich Paul, confirmed that the NBA superstar is not involved in the project. With the WNBA facing criticism, an alternative could pose a significant threat to the league.<\/p>\n

Women’s basketball has seen a surge in popularity, with March Madness attracting more viewers than ever before. The WNBA has also experienced a record-breaking rise, with Caitlin Clark receiving much of the credit for the increase in popularity.<\/p>\n

While the league is enjoying record-breaking revenue, skyrocketing viewership, and unprecedented game attendance, it’s currently steering through a complicated curve. WNBA players are still under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which was settled in 2020.<\/p>\n

The CBA expired at the close of the 2025 season, and players didn’t hold back their sentiments at the WNBA All-Star game. During pregame warmups, they sported shirts that boldly stated, ‘Pay us what you owe us.’<\/p>\n

In 2025, WNBA teams were subject to a $1,507,100 salary cap, with each team limited to 11 or 12 players. The average WNBA salary stood at $102,249, but this figure doesn’t mirror the league’s extraordinary growth in recent years.<\/p>\n

\"ClarkClark campaigned for higher salaries during the WNBA All-Star Game.(Image: 2025 Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The WNBA’s projected revenue for 2024 was a whopping $226 million, meaning less than nine percent of that sum was reinvested into player salaries. In contrast, about 50 percent of NBA revenue is allocated toward player salaries.<\/p>\n

WNBA players aren’t demanding equal pay, but they are advocating for a larger share of the revenue they help generate. While Clark stands out due to her immense popularity, the disparity between her WNBA salary and total endorsement earnings underscores the issue.<\/p>\n

Clark reportedly raked in an estimated $16 million from endorsements and sponsors, yet the WNBA paid her a mere $78,000 in 2025. While Clark may have the privilege of not relying on her WNBA salary, other players aren’t as fortunate.<\/p>\n

“A lot of times, the misinformation comes in where we’re asking to be paid what the men are being paid. That’s not true,” WNBA veteran Kelsey Plum clarified on the All the Smoke podcast. “We’re asking just the same percentage of revenue or a similar percentage of revenue. And right now, that’s not the case. And so that’s what we’re fighting for.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new women’s basketball league could be launched to rival the WNBA, with LeBron James’ business partner Maverick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,2327,82,630],"class_list":{"0":"post-226112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-lebron-james","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}