Salary Increase for WNBA Players: An Analysis of the Negotiations
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that WNBA players will receive a “significant increase” in their salaries as part of the new collective bargaining agreement. However, Silver emphasized the importance of considering the “absolute numbers” as the primary measure of this growth, rather than the proportion of total revenue.The WNBA Players Association (WNBPA) opted not to renew the current collective bargaining agreement a year ago and has been negotiating a new one since then. The current agreement is scheduled to expire in less than two weeks, on October 31. The WNBPA reposted a snippet of Silver’s comments on an Instagram story, in which he repeated “I don’t think the proportion is the right way to look at it” and the caption “Don’t want to share?”, tagging Silver.A crucial point in the negotiations, according to the players, has been the disparity in the way each side believes the players’ salaries should be determined, amid a period of notable growth for the league. The players are pushing for a system where the percentage of revenue allocated to salaries increases with business growth, similar to the NBA, where the salary cap is determined by basketball-related income (BRI), with the players receiving approximately half of that figure, as stipulated in their collective bargaining agreement.I think the proportion is not the right way to look at it because there is much more revenue in the NBA. I think the absolute numbers should be considered in terms of what they are earning. They are going to get a big raise in this collective bargaining cycle and they deserve it.
Adam Silver
On the other hand, the league’s proposals have presented a salary cap that increases at a fixed rate over time, as in the current agreement, where the cap increases by 3% annually.
Satou Sabally of the Phoenix Mercury commented during the WNBA Finals that a recent proposal from the league makes the players feel that “we are not part of the league’s growth.”The league’s salary cap was $1,507,100 in 2025, with a maximum of $249,244 and a minimum of $66,079. The WNBA has experienced record growth in the last two years, with an increase in attendance, viewership, merchandise sales, investment, and franchise valuations, in addition to a new media deal worth $2.2 billion. When asked during the Finals about the points of disagreement between the players and the owners in the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert highlighted the importance of “balancing” the increase in players’ salaries with the “long-term viability of the league”.If we were to continue with this agreement, in percentage terms, we would decrease our [compensation].
Satou Sabally
If the two sides do not reach an agreement before Halloween, they could agree to an extension that allows them to continue negotiating, as they did for the last collective agreement that was finally signed in January 2020. A new collective agreement must be finalized before an expansion draft is held for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire teams, and it must also precede a free agency period where most veteran league players are unrestricted free agents.That’s what we’re debating to determine where that right balance is. I think we all agree that we are trying to return every possible dollar to the players, but we also want to incentivize the owners’ investment. We want the owners to have a viable business. Obviously, we are considering expansion to 18 teams by the end of the decade. Therefore, it is important that the incoming owners have the opportunity for a viable economic model for the future.
Cathy Engelbert
