The WNBA and WNBPA remain at odds in negotiations as the two sides attempt to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement in time to play the 2026 season.
The league and players association traded proposals over the weekend as they try to reach an agreement before a March 10 deadline, set by the league to make sure the season can start as scheduled on May 8.
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In late February, the union sent the league a proposal asking for 26% of gross revenue for the players, according to The Associated Press. The league, so far, has been countering with proposals offering players over 70% of net revenue, per the AP. (The league’s calculations factor in losses, while the players are seeking a revenue split commonly found in other professional leagues.)
On Friday, the union sent a new proposal, which the league countered shortly after, though details of neither of the latest offers have been made public.
The WNBA and its players have long been expected to have a tense labor negotiation amid an explosion in interest in the league.
Last July, players participating in the league’s All-Star Game coordinated to wear the same T-shirt during warmups, emblazoned with the message, “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
Players have been asking for a larger share of the pie as league revenues have steadily increased.
From 2019 to 2023, the WNBA’s revenue increased from $102 million to $119 million, according to Bloomberg. In 2024, the league saw a massive spike in interest, thanks in large part to the arrival of phenom Caitlin Clark. This most recent season, even with Clark missing large stretches due to injury, the WNBA reached its revenue-sharing target for the first time, sending another $8 million to players per terms of the previous CBA.
In 2024, the league secured a television deal that runs through 2036 and pays the league an average of $200 million a year.
In addition to the rising revenue, the league is expanding quickly.
The WNBA will have 18 teams — up from the current 13 — by 2030. The Golden State Valkyries ownership group paid $50 million to join the league in 2023, while owners for the upcoming Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit franchises each paid a $250 million expansion fee last year.
Players, however, do not receive money from expansion fees. While they have wanted to share in the league’s growing success, the WNBA has countered that it is still losing money and granting players 26% of gross revenue would be “unrealistic.”
The negotiations have been contentious.
In late September, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier strongly criticized league Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and accused Engelbert of saying, “Players should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.”
Earlier this month, veterans Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum wrote a letter to union leadership expressing frustration at the pace of the negotiations.
“[W]e are frustrated that we have not made more progress as we near the March 10 deadline,” Stewart and Plum wrote in the letter, per ESPN. “And we believe this is a result of a breakdown in communication between [WNBPA Executive Director Terri Jackson] and the Executive Committee and players more broadly.”
Players have found ways outside of the WNBA to capitalize on the increased interest in women’s basketball. Stewart and Collier co-founded Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 basketball league that concluded its second season earlier this month.
But they remain committed to getting back on the court in the WNBA.
“I don’t understand why we don’t just get in a room and iron it out and shake hands,” Clark told reporters after a Team USA practice Saturday. “That’s how business is. You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides. For me, that’s what I would love to see.”
Stewart added: “I think that would be great for us all to sit in a room until we really get it done. If that means sitting in there for hours and hours at a time, let’s do it. That’s for the better of the player. While a situation like that has never happened before, there’s a first time for everything.”
