A new women’s basketball league could be launched to rival the WNBA, with LeBron James’ business partner Maverick Carter reportedly in talks regarding the alternative project
Maverick Carter is reportedly pursuing a women’s basketball league which could rival the WNBA(Image: 2024 Kevork Djansezian)
LeBron James’ business partner, Maverick Carter, is reportedly exploring the possibility of starting a women’s basketball league to rival the WNBA.
Earlier this year, according to ESPN, Carter was exploring the possibility of launching a new $5 billion international men’s basketball league to rival the NBA. However, Carter has since pulled out of the project and is now focusing his attention on women’s basketball.
The WNBA is currently navigating a difficult period, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert facing pressure as players campaign for a drastically improved collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier slammed Engelbert and the WNBA in a four-minute statement, and Carter may set up a rival league.
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According to ESPN, Carter has distanced himself from the international men’s basketball league project known as ‘Project B,’ and women’s basketball is now his primary focus. Representatives confirmed that a women’s basketball league to rival the WNBA was the new vision.
Details surrounding the proposed league are unknown, but James’ agent, Rich Paul, confirmed that the NBA icon is not connected to the project. With the WNBA under fire, an alternative could pose as a major threat to the league.
Women’s basketball has surged in popularity, with March Madness drawing more viewers than ever before. The WNBA has also enjoyed a record-breaking rise, with Caitlin Clark earning a lot of credit for the spike in popularity.
Caitlin Clark campaigned for higher salaries during the WNBA All-Star Game(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
While revenue is at an all-time high, viewing figures are off the charts, and game attendance is greater than ever before, the league is currently navigating a complex curve. WNBA players are still signed to the CBA, which was agreed upon in 2020.
The CBA expired at the end of the 2025 season, and players made their feelings very clear at the WNBA All-Star game. During pregame warmups, players wore shirts that read, ‘Pay us what you owe us.’
In 2025, WNBA teams had a $1,507,100 salary cap, with each roster capped at 11 or 12 players. The average WNBA salary was $102,249, but this doesn’t reflect the league’s unprecedented growth in recent years.
The WNBA’s estimated revenue for 2024 was $226 million, meaning that less than nine percent of that figure was reinvested into player salaries. In the NBA, around 50 percent of league revenue goes toward player salaries.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is facing pressure ahead of the next CBA(Image: Getty Images)
While WNBA players aren’t fighting for equal pay, they are fighting to receive more of the revenue that they help generate. While Clark is an outlier due to her overwhelming popularity, the gap between her WNBA salary and total revenue from endorsements highlights the problem.
Clark has reportedly earned an estimated $16 million through endorsements and sponsors, but the WNBA paid her just $78,000 in 2025. Clark may have the luxury of not depending on her WNBA salary, but other players aren’t in her position.
“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 said 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.”