"Since opting out of the 2020 CBA in October of 2024, WNBA players have said they would like player salaries to be tied to the health of the business, calculated as a percentage of league revenue, similar to the NBA. Until now, the WNBA's salary cap has been a fixed and essentially arbitrary number; in 2022, base salaries amounted to less than 10 percent of league revenues."
"The union's latest proposal reportedly asks that player salaries be on average 26 percent of gross revenue. (This would raise the 2026 salary cap to $9.5 million; in the old CBA, the 2026 cap was set to increase from $1.5 million to $1.55 million.) The league has offered players 70 percent of 'net revenue' after expenses, a number that the union says would be less than 15 percent of gross revenue over the life of the deal."
"After a monthlong stretch of no communication between the sides, the WNBA and WNBPA began exchanging proposals and counterproposals again in early February. While there are other issues being bargained over—housing, for instance, has come up in recent proposals—the key issue remains salaries, which are expected to rise considerably now that the league has signed a new media rights deal valued at over $2 billion."
The WNBA and WNBPA are in critical negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement with a March 10 deadline to start the season on May 8. After a monthlong communication pause, both sides resumed exchanging proposals in early February. The primary issue is player salaries, which are expected to increase significantly due to the league's new media rights deal valued at over $2 billion. Players seek salaries tied to league revenue as a percentage, similar to the NBA model. The union proposes 26 percent of gross revenue for player salaries, which would raise the 2026 salary cap to $9.5 million, compared to the previous CBA's planned $1.55 million. The league counters with 70 percent of net revenue after expenses, which the union estimates as less than 15 percent of gross revenue.
#wnba-collective-bargaining #player-salaries-and-revenue-sharing #media-rights-deal #labor-negotiations #salary-cap-reform
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