Silver Confirms WNBA Deal and Addresses Tensions in Negotiations

Adam Silver Confirms Labor Agreement in the WNBA Despite Tensions

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has assured that a new collective bargaining agreement will be reached with the WNBA players, although he acknowledged the need to repair relations after recent criticism directed at Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Tensions reached their peak last week when Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier expressed her dissatisfaction with the league’s leadership.

“There’s no doubt the WNBA is experiencing growing pains, and it’s unfortunate that this is happening right when their most important games and the Finals are underway,” Silver stated.

Adam Silver

Silver emphasized the importance of focusing on the celebration of the current game while negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the players. Engelbert has also expressed confidence in reaching a new agreement, although not necessarily before the October 31 deadline. League and players’ association negotiators are expected to meet in the coming days. The players are seeking significant changes after the notable growth of the WNBA in recent seasons, and some have expressed their frustration with Engelbert, although not with the same intensity as Collier, a finalist for the league’s MVP award. Silver acknowledged that, while Engelbert has led historic growth in the league, there are issues that need to be addressed with the players, not only economic ones, but also in relationships. He was optimistic about the ability to solve these problems and keep the league on its upward trajectory. Silver made these statements at NBC Sports headquarters, where he discussed the network’s return to broadcasting the league this season, including the broadcast of the WNBA Finals in 2026. Derek Fisher, former Lakers player and former president of the Basketball Players Association, commented that it is unusual to see someone express themselves like Collier during negotiations, but he understood the reason.

“It’s not the norm, but those were the feelings many times,” Fisher said.

Derek Fisher

Fisher, who was also a coach in the WNBA and will be an NBC analyst for NBA coverage, explained that in high-stakes negotiations, a level of distrust and misunderstanding sometimes arises due to a lack of communication. However, he pointed out that until an agreement is reached, the nature is very adverse. Silver insisted that an agreement would be reached.

“We will reach an agreement with the players,” he affirmed. “There is still much work to be done, but of course we will achieve a new collective bargaining agreement.”

Adam Silver

Fisher suggested that WNBA players feel they haven’t been valued enough and that there is a disconnect with the league’s management. Fisher believes the league could have reached this point sooner, and that players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have accelerated the league’s growth, but that players feel they cannot allow some of the things that have happened in its 27-year history to be repeated, and they do not want to leave young players in the same position they were in the past.