New Proposals in the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiation
On Friday, a new proposal for the WNBA collective bargaining agreement was presented, which includes some concessions regarding housing and facility standards. However, no significant updates have been made to the revenue sharing system proposed by the league, according to sources close to the negotiations.Among the housing concessions, it is established that players with the applicable minimum wage and those with zero years of service will receive a one-bedroom apartment during the first three years of the new agreement. Development players, for their part, will have studio apartments.
It is not yet clear how the players have received this new proposal, presented on Friday, more than six weeks after the players’ association presented its last offer around Christmas. Previously, the league had not included any housing provisions in its proposals. WNBA teams have been required to provide housing to players since the first collective bargaining agreement was ratified in 1999. In the previous agreement, teams could provide housing in the form of a one-bedroom apartment or a financial allowance. The biggest point of disagreement between the parties has been, by far, the revenue sharing mechanism in a new agreement. The league has proposed that players receive on average more than 70% of net revenue, defined as revenue after deducting expenses. Their latest proposal includes a salary cap of $5.65 million in 2026 (compared to approximately $1.5 million in 2025), and this would grow in subsequent years in line with revenue growth. In their previous proposal, maximum salaries, including revenue-sharing payments, would amount to $1.3 million in 2026 and were projected to approach $2 million in 2031. The supermaximum in 2025 was $249,000. The average player salary, including revenue sharing, was projected to reach $540,000 in 2026 and $780,000 in 2031, up from $120,000 in 2025. For their part, the players have proposed a salary cap of $10.5 million and have pushed to receive 30% of gross revenue, defined as revenue before deducting expenses, while stating that the league’s proposal constitutes less than 15% of gross revenue. Multiple sources indicated that the league projected the union’s plan would result in $700 million in losses during the term of the agreement and would jeopardize the league’s financial health. The union believes its revenue-sharing model still puts the league in a “profitable position,” according to a separate source close to the negotiations, and calls the league’s projected loss figure “absolutely false,” citing a difference in whether expansion fees are taken into account in those calculations.On Monday, the league and the players’ union met in a crucial negotiation session that also included players and owners. According to the presentation slides from the meeting, the league showed the players that it is also offering more guaranteed contracts allowed per team and two new roster spots for developing players.
The slides also indicate that the league’s previous proposal includes commercial consent from pregnant players, the elimination of marijuana testing, greater team contributions to players’ 401(k) retirement accounts, new team personnel requirements, and a recognition payment for current retirees. A source said that at Monday’s meeting, the players emphasized the importance of housing and facilities standards and that the league’s new proposal also contains some of the latter, although it is not clear what those new standards are. The WNBPA’s leadership will meet in the coming days to review the league’s proposal. The WNBPA’s player body granted the executive committee the right to call a strike in December, something the players have referred to as being in their pocket. The 2026 season of the league is scheduled to begin on May 8, but first a new collective bargaining agreement must be agreed upon, in addition to a two-team expansion draft and free agency for all but two of the league’s veterans.
