The WNBA has countered a recent collective bargaining agreement proposal from its Players’ Association after the league quickly announced its displeasure with the financials suggested by the players.
Earlier this week, the WNBPA took its revenue-sharing ask slightly down. Players asked for an average of 27.5% of gross revenue, down from a previously reported proposal of 30%. The league submitted a CBA proposal two weeks ago that included players receiving 70% of net revenue (which comes after expenses are deducted) and a $5.65 million salary cap. According to The Athletic, the WNBA’s newest counterproposal keeps the previous revenue figures offered to players the same.
The league’s latest offer does include concessions on the issue of provided housing, however. Guaranteed team housing for the 2026 season was proposed by the league, with housing provided only to players on minimum salaries or those with no years of service the next two years. After 2028, the housing benefit would expire for the full-time roster per The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant.
On Tuesday, the WNBPA’s latest proposal asked for teams to continue to provide housing to players over the first several years of a new CBA, but in later years, teams would no longer be obligated to provide housing for players making close to the maximum salary. The two parties appear to be much closer on the housing issue than they are on revenue sharing.
Why is the WNBA’s newest CBA counterproposal significant?
After the WNBPA’s most recent CBA counterproposal, the WNBA quickly issued a harsh statement on the suggested financials.
“The Players Association’s latest proposal remains unrealistic and would cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses to our teams,” a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. “We still need to complete two drafts and free agency before the start of training camp and are running out of time. We believe the WNBA’s proposal would result in a huge win for current players and generations to come.”
The league’s counter on Friday night reflects that statement, not budging on its previously proposed revenue model. On the other hand, the WNBPA’s most recent offer did include a concession on revenue sharing, going down to a suggested 27.5% of gross revenue from the previously reported offer of 30%. The WNBA wasn’t pleased with that suggestion from its players, now digging its heels in and potentially signaling a fork in the road for the heated CBA negotiations.
WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson refuted the league’s sentiment regarding the union’s latest proposal in a message to players that was obtained by The Athletic.
“It is unfathomable that anyone would question our commitment to negotiations and desire to get a deal done after nearly a year and a half of pushing and pulling, meetings upon meetings, proposal after counter proposal,” Jackson wrote. “And then to have been kept waiting [six] weeks for a response from the league?
“What we have proposed is very realistic. What the league and the teams have done is played games.”
Nearly a full offseason has to take place before the WNBA’s scheduled start of May 8. The draft lottery is in the books, but the April 13 draft, an expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, a free agency period and training camp all still need to happen, and none can start until a new CBA agreed to by both parties.
Things could come together quickly, but the league keeping its proposed revenue model consistent brings a sense that tensions are only on the rise. In December, WNBA players voted to authorize a strike “when necessary” after negotiations stalled past initial expiration dates and multiple deadline extensions. That hasn’t happened yet, but we’ll have to see how the players receive the league’s latest CBA offer.
More WNBA on Sports Illustrated
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- WNBPA Counters League’s Latest CBA Proposal With Key Compromises Amid Labor Dispute
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- Adam Silver Stresses Urgency in WNBA CBA Negotiations
This article was originally published on www.si.com as WNBA Doesn't Budge on Salary in Latest CBA Proposal, Here’s Why That’s Significant.
