Unrivaled, Project B, or Overseas: How I Would Plan a Player's Offseason

Opinion The author's own takes, written in his voice. The facts behind them are cited and linked.

By McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM · Certified WNBA player agent · Former certified NBA agent

Published November 4, 2026. Last updated November 4, 2026.

This post is opinion. The facts each take rests on are cited and linked, and the takes are mine. The facts about the leagues are in the Project B explainer, and this post does not repeat them.

What are the WNBA offseason options this winter?

Three real options and one quiet one. Project B starts in January 2027 with a Seoul camp, then tournaments in Hangzhou, Valencia and Tokyo, per Reuters. Unrivaled starts in January 2027 as 3-on-3 with five announced tour stops, per MPR News. A club contract overseas runs on whatever calendar the contract sets. The quiet option is rest, and I count it as a real choice.

Factor one: how much does it pay, and how sure is the money?

Pay is the loudest factor and the least reliable. The only Project B figure on record is a report that Nneka Ogwumike is set to earn more than $2 million a year, per Forbes, and the league has published no pay scale. My view: a headline number is a reason to ask questions, not to sign. I want the payment dates, the late-payment remedy and the equity terms in writing, which is the standard in the overseas contracts guide. Money that is not scheduled in writing is a hope.

Factor two: what does it add to injury and workload risk?

Every game is a physical cost, and the winter comes before a WNBA season that asks for a full commitment. Forbes describes Project B stops as 10-day events, and the stops are in different countries, so travel is part of the load. No source reviewed here measures injury risk by league, so this one is judgment. My rule is to ask how many games, how many time zones and who covers a rehab bill if the player is hurt abroad, and to be wary of any offer that cannot answer in writing.

Factor three: does the schedule fit around the WNBA?

This is where most decisions are made. Front Office Sports says Project B conflicts with Unrivaled and European leagues but not with the WNBA or FIBA commitments, per its November 4 update. The WNBA also sets reporting dates, and an overseas contract without a clean exit before them can cost a player a WNBA season, a point covered in the overseas contracts guide. Under the new labor agreement the WNBA can extend its season into late November, per Front Office Sports, which narrows the winter further. My view: a player who cannot show where the exit date sits against the WNBA calendar should not sign.

I built the Aspiring Agent Launch Kit for readers in this spot. The certification path, a first-90-days plan and trackers for new agents.

Factor four: what does it do for long-term leverage?

This is the factor players underweight. A winter league can build a brand, a second income stream and a record against international competition. It can also tie a player to one league's calendar. Players who sign with Project B receive equity, per Forbes, which is leverage only if the terms are real. The question I ask is simple: does this move leave the player with more options in two years, or fewer?

How would I put the four factors together?

I would score each option from one to five on each factor, write the reasons beside the scores, and treat any option that cannot document its pay or its exit as a one. The scores are a way to force the conversation, not a formula. From an agent's seat, writing the reasons down is the useful part, because it exposes which questions the club or league has not answered.

Before anything is signed, the agent pay guide and the red flags guide apply to whoever is helping with the decision.