WNBA: Players Reject Salary Proposal, Negotiations Stalled

WNBA: Proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement Does Not Satisfy Players

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) does not consider the WNBA’s latest collective bargaining agreement proposal to be advancing negotiations, according to sources close to the situation. The league’s proposal, which includes a revenue-sharing component, would allow players to earn a maximum salary of over $1.1 million, an average of over $460,000, and a minimum of over $220,000. In 2025, the league’s minimum salary was $66,079 and its supermax was $249,244. However, sources indicate that the players’ union does not believe the league’s proposal includes a system where the salary cap and players’ salaries will grow sufficiently with the business, a long-standing demand of the players since they chose not to renew the current agreement in October 2024.

The players do not want a fixed salary system and, instead, want one based more directly on revenue, as in the NBA, where the salary cap is determined by Basketball Related Income (BRI).

Sources close to the negotiation

Previously, the league stated that it has proposed “significant guaranteed increases in the salary cap and a substantial revenue sharing without a cap that allows player salaries to grow as the league’s business grows.” The union responded in a statement that the proposal “dresses up a pig and recycles a system that is not tied to any part of the business and intentionally undervalues the players.” In the current agreement, the salary cap increased annually at a fixed rate (3%), reaching $1,507,100 in 2025, and a separate revenue-sharing provision required direct payments to the players if the league reached certain revenue targets. That component has not yet been activated during the agreement. Last month, both sides agreed to a 30-day extension, until November 30, of the current agreement, although both parties can terminate the agreement with 48 hours’ notice. The league and the union have continued to negotiate in recent weeks with a meeting as recent as Wednesday.