WNBA players deserve way more money and a share of the league’s revenue as they currently battle the league in CBA negotiations.
It’s no secret that WNBA players want more money, and right now, they have history and common sense on their side in their current collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the league.
Let’s run through some facts.
Under the current CBA, players are receiving just 9% of league revenue, when that number is 50% in the NBA, a minimum of 48% in the NFL, and about 47% for MLB. Caitlin Clark’s salary is just over $78,000 this year, and people are seriously arguing that WNBA players shouldn’t be making way more? Come on.
Merchandise sales and sponsorships are at an all-time high and growing. TV viewership more than doubled in 2024 from 2023, and it’s up again this year through the All-Star break. It’s why the league signed a $2.2 billion TV contract last year that goes into effect in 2026.
It’s also why the league was able to get $250 million expansion fees from Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia this year when Golden State only paid a $50 million fee just two years ago. It’s why the Las Vegas Aces are valued at $290 million now when they were sold for $2 million just four years ago. Players like Clark, A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart are household names now, with endorsement deals that now rival the biggest stars in other sports.
Back in May, before the W season started, WNBA Players Association executive director Terri Jackson told me that she’d like to see significant progress on CBA negotiations by the All-Star break. That moment came and went in July. More than 40 players reportedly showed up to negotiations between the players and owners in Indianapolis, but the two sides reportedly remain far apart on key issues.
“We were hoping perhaps more would be yielded given the engagement,” WNBPA union president Nneka Ogwumike of the Seattle Storm said at the time.
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It’s why, after that meeting didn’t go the way the players wanted, the WNBA All-Stars wore those “Pay Us What You Owe Us” t-shirts. It was a brilliant negotiation tactic that quickly went viral. It sparked debate among fans who know what the players deserve, and skeptics who scoffed at what they believed was arrogance coming from the brightest stars of a league that has yet to turn a profit.
The CBA expires at the end of October, and the players have yet to receive the type of offer that would significantly increase player salaries, drastically increase their cut of league revenue, and include a portion of jersey sales, which is insane that they don’t have that already. Although common ground on important issues like benefits and family planning has reportedly been achieved, players are far behind on a timeline that achieves their hard-earned objectives.
“We’re committed to this for as long as it takes,” Jackson said in May. “We know what the stakes are. We know our power, we know the moment, and we’re going to take this seriously.”
The league has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years, and the players want a new CBA that reflects the exponential gains that would not have been possible without their efforts. If not, we could experience a work stoppage that would halt the W’s incredible momentum right in its tracks. And nobody who truly cares about the WNBA wants that to happen.
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