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Caitlin Clark shot down Sophie Cunningham’s efforts to lure her to play in the Saudi-backed Project B, despite the promise of a ‘lot of money’ should she join the new startup
Sophie Cunningham has revealed that she attempted to recruit Caitlin Clark to join Project B, hoping to lure the star.
Clark, the Indiana Fever star, is one of the most recognizable basketball players in the world, with the 23-year-old reportedly earning $16 million from her endorsements alone. As such, she is afforded a luxury not many other players have, which is why the Saudi-backed women’s basketball league has attracted some of the biggest names in the WNBA.
Along with Cunningham, Nneka Ogwumike, Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas, and Jewell Loyd are among the many stars who have already signed onto Project B. And now, the 29-year-old shared she attempted to sway Clark.
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“I tried to get her to play in this one. She’s like, ‘No,'” Cunningham revealed on a recent episode of her Show Me Something podcast. The 29-year-old also claimed that Clark turned down the offer despite Project B offering “a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot” of money.
The Fever star’s decision to turn down Cunningham’s request shows how Clark has operated in her offseasons since she entered the WNBA. Starting from the 2024 women’s college basketball tournament until the end of her rookie year, Clark has effectively played basketball nonstop.
That is why when the 2024 WNBA season concluded, and the star had a chance to play in Unrivaled, she turned that down as well.
Clark used the offseason before the 2025 campaign to recover, but it appears as if the constant basketball took its toll. Last season, the star guard only played in 13 games due to a number of injuries.
Considering how hampered Clark was, she once again opted to rest in preparation for the upcoming WNBA season. Despite the 23-year-old turning down her offer, Cunningham stated that she was excited to play with another one of her Fever teammates: Kelsey Mitchell.
West Wilson, Cunningham’s co-host, noted: “I saw Kelsey Mitchell’s playing,” which led to the Fever star to reply: “Yeah, which I’m super excited about. Super excited to play with Kelsey. Or I don’t know if I’ll play with her, but we’ll be in the same league.”
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As the WNBA and its players continue to work on a new CBA, Cunningham noted that a number of American players are playing in two leagues to make ends meet. Those could be any combination of Athletes Unlimited, Unrivaled, and the WNBA.
She added that she believes that more WNBA stars will be “switching over” to Project B when the time comes. Still, Cunningham understands that the WNBA still has a part to play in growing women’s basketball.
“So here’s my thing. So all these leagues are great. But at the end of the day, if you don’t have the W, you don’t have the platform,” Cunningham posited, despite signing with a league that seemingly is positioning itself to be a major competitor of the WNBA.
“So you don’t have the eyes. You don’t have the recognition.”
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