WNBA Discussions: Key Negotiations in the Collective Bargaining Agreement Close
Negotiations between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) for a new collective bargaining agreement are approaching the January 9 deadline, but the parties have yet to reach a consensus on several crucial points. These include the revenue sharing system, what is considered revenue, and how expenses are accounted for. Sources close to the negotiations revealed that the WNBA projects significant losses if the WNBPA’s proposal is implemented, which would grant players approximately 30% of gross revenue. It is estimated that these losses could reach $700 million over the course of the agreement, putting the league’s financial health at risk.This projection is based on previously audited financial information. However, the union believes that its revenue-sharing model would still allow the league to be “profitable”, calling the league’s projected loss figure “absolutely false”. The discrepancy lies in whether expansion fees are taken into account. The league will expand to 18 teams, with the incorporation of Portland and Toronto in 2026, and Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia joining between 2028 and 2030, after paying $250 million each. The league views expansion fees as a transaction that generates zero net revenue, while the union sees them as real money that contributes to the owners’ profits. The two parties have not agreed on the revenue sharing model for the next agreement. The league has proposed a system where the players would receive more than 50% of the net revenue, defined as revenue after deducting expenses.The WNBA projects significant losses if the WNBPA’s proposal is implemented.
Sources close to the negotiations
- An uncapped revenue sharing component.
- An increase in maximum salaries to over $1.3 million, reaching almost $2 million during the term of the agreement.
- Average salaries exceeding $530,000, growing to over $780,000.
- Minimum salaries exceeding a quarter of a million in the first year.
The WNBPA proposes a system based on gross revenue (before deducting expenses), giving players around 30%. The WNBPA believes that the players, who provide the labor and have no control over business expenses, should not be the last to be paid. The WNBPA proposed a compensation system last month with a projected salary cap of approximately $12.5 million in 2026, more than eight times the 2025 cap. That November 28 proposal also included an average player salary of approximately $1 million and a maximum player salary of $2.5 million, 20% of the proposed salary cap. More recently, the union has proposed a lower salary cap, close to $10.5 million. The WNBPA stated that the players are fully committed and focused on securing a transformative agreement that offers a significant share of the revenue generated by their work. Both parties have previously agreed to two extensions of the current collective agreement and to continue negotiating a new agreement. However, the negotiations are still in their early stages. At the beginning of this month, the players authorized Nneka Ogwumike and the rest of the union’s executive committee to vote on a strike “if necessary”.The league’s revenue-sharing model is not adequate.
Nneka Ogwumike, WNBPA president
We could strike if necessary, but that doesn’t mean we want that to happen. We have this in our arsenal to get exactly what we need, which is a fair agreement that represents our value in a very meaningful way.
Nneka Ogwumike, WNBPA president
