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The WNBA and WNBA Players Association remain at odds days ahead of their third deadline in collective bargaining negotiations, with time ticking in a busy offseason.
The six-week extension is set to expire on Friday, again setting the stage for what would be the league’s first work stoppage. The union voted overwhelmingly last month for the WNBPA executive committee to call a strike “if necessary,” a decision they could make at any time after the deadline expires. Players, including WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and WNBPA vice president Napheesa Collier, have said since that vote that they believe a deal will be done.
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The sides could also agree to another extension, or enter a “status quo period” during which operations and negotiations would continue in good faith without a work stoppage. Despite there being no current danger of missing games, the league needs to conduct a two-team expansion draft and a busy free agency period that will consist of the majority of the league.
But they remain far apart on the wedge issue of salary structure and revenue sharing. Here is what we know ahead of the deadline and why a deal hasn’t been agreed upon yet.
WNBA’s proposal tops $1.3M in max salary
The WNBA’s proposal includes an uncapped revenue-sharing model that would grow player salaries alongside the business, as players have publicly requested, a source with knowledge of the situation told Yahoo Sports. Their model gives up to 70% of the net revenue to players, and that includes league and team revenues, the source said.
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The salary financials of the six-year deal which remain the same since offering them in December include:
Maximum salary: More than $1.3 million in Year 1 and growing to nearly $2 million over the course of the deal. Salaries would increase more than 50% over six years. The supermax in 2025 was $249,244, an increase of 15% since the start of the recent CBA in 2020. The maximum salary can be made by multiple players on one team.
Average salary: More than $530,000 and increasing to more than $770,000 by deal’s end. The average salary is currently around $120,000.
Minimum salary: More than $250,000 in the first year, up from the current $67,000 for players with 0-2 years of experience. This would include undrafted rookies and third-round draft selections in their first year.
Salary cap: Approximately $5 million, up from $1.5 million in 2025. In the last CBA negotiations, salaries increased 82% while the cap grew by only 30%. That forced out the middle class of players, and more often than not meant keeping rookies over end-of-bench vets.
The maximum number includes a base guarantee of $1 million that can increase to $1.3 million via the revenue-sharing component that is tacked onto the salary. It is essentially a bonus or commission payout on top of an employee’s annual salary. Players would be paid during the season through the salary cap number, and the second part of their pay would be based on revenue sharing for an additional amount in excess of the salary cap, the source said.
The union is focused on the revenue-sharing percent over solid salary numbers and proposed a system that would give the players approximately 30% of gross team and league revenue, The Athletic reported in December. That percentage would increase by one each season, until it reaches 34 in the final year of the proposed deal. Per reports:
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Maximum salary: The WNBPA’s deal does not delineate salaries as previous CBAs have done, but its system would result in the highest-paid players earning more than $1 million per season.
Salary cap: It would be calculated by subtracting the cost of player benefits from the players’ share of the previous season’s total revenue, and dividing it by the number of teams. The recent number is $10.5 million. It is also proposing mandatory league and team audits for accuracy, an important inclusion that former union advisor CBA expert Tamika Tremaglio detailed to Yahoo Sports in December.
Amid negotiations, players made a bold statement during last year's All-Star Game by wearing "Pay Us What You Owe Us" shirts during warm-ups. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers via Getty Images)
What is holding up a deal?
The point of contention is what is included in the revenue bucket.
The league’s revenue-sharing model is based on the net, so the profit after expenses are paid. That includes the cost of travel, security, staff, arenas and charter flights, which will be codified in this CBA after the league introduced them toward the start of the 2024 regular season. Charters were not allowed under the previous deal. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert estimated at the time that it would cost the league $25 million a year in 2024 and 2025.
The union views this structure as paying the players last. They based their proposal on the gross revenues, so everything the league and teams take in before bills are paid. To carry on with their All-Star metaphor messaging, the players want a piece of the entire pie and not a piece of a piece that’s left in the tin.
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“The players know the difference between doing business and creating clickbait,” WNBPA executive director Teri Jackson said in a statement to USA Today Sports this week. “They are focused on the system. Despite what the league and the teams are trying to do, the players are not confused by the numbers. The players want a meaningful share of the revenue they are creating. They want to be properly valued in these negotiations and this next CBA. They do not want to be paid last with only a fraction of the dollars left over.”
The WNBPA proposal would result in $700 million in losses over the course of the deal, a league source familiar with the situation told Yahoo Sports, arguing that the league’s revenue is smaller than other professional leagues, while many costs are comparable. The number is based on a previous audit. The union disagrees, believing its offer is profitable.
The league heads into its 30th season at its most profitable, with viewership, attendance and sales metrics rising annually. Though the income numbers are not public, a glimpse at the coffers is clear via the incoming expansion fees and media rights deals.
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That money will kick in this season on an annual payout of approximately $200 million per year through the NBA deal negotiated with Disney, NBC and Amazon. It is six times its prior ESPN deal and can be reevaluated in three years to align appropriate value. (The WNBA also has smaller deals to air games on CBS, ION and USA Network.) For years, Engelbert has pointed to the media rights deal specifically as an example of how the players will receive substantial raises. As recently as the WNBA Finals, she underlined the significant raises, but the issue for players remains the percent versus the number.
The three expansion teams the league announced this summer in Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland will all pay a reported $250 million each, resulting in a grand total of nearly $1 billion in expansion fees for its six new teams. Portland and Toronto are scheduled to join Golden State this summer.
The union’s proposal includes those expansion fees in its projections, while the WNBA does not. The NBA also does not include expansion fees in its revenue-sharing structure, nor do the NFL or NHL. (The MLB’s salary structure is not tied to revenue, so expansion fee sharing does not come into play.) Leagues typically split it amongst existing owners.
Union brass have spoken often of being at the forefront of change, and this would be one way it pushes forward to set precedent. Players view it as real money contributing to a team's bottom line. The argument on the league side is that it’s a one-time payment, and by adding teams, the money each receives in the annual media rights deal diminishes.
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What else is on the table?
The league proposal includes holding a mandatory draft combine in the offseason and removing the team-issued housing requirements. There is also talk of an expanded league footprint with training camp beginning in March.
The issue of prioritization and forbidding players from participating in other leagues has come up with players, but the sense is it’s unlikely to be done this round. Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell, Collier’s husband, said on Monday they “don’t believe that future is near.”
The union proposal focuses on player freedom by eliminating the core designation entirely and reducing rookie contract length. It also wants to set minimum practice facility and staff standards throughout the league. Leave policies, as well as mental health and retirement benefits, are also on the table.
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