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Alexa Filippo
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association doesn’t view the WNBA’s latest collective bargaining agreement proposal as something that moves negotiations forward, sources told ESPN on Thursday, 10 days before the current CBA is set to expire.
The league’s proposal, first reported by the Associated Press and confirmed by ESPN earlier this week, includes a revenue sharing component that, in combination with base salaries, would allow players to earn a maximum salary of more than $1.1 million, an average of more than $460,000 and a minimum salary of more than $220,000.
In 2025, the league’s minimum salary was $66,079 and its supermax was $249,244.
But sources told ESPN that the players’ union does not believe the league’s proposal includes a system where the salary cap and player salaries grow adequately with the business, a long-standing demand of the players since they exit the current CBA in October 2024.
Players do not want a fixed salary system and instead want a system based directly on revenue, such as in the NBA, where the salary cap is set by basketball-related income (BRI).
The league previously said in a statement that it had proposed “significant guaranteed salary cap increases and substantial uncapped revenue sharing that will enable players’ salaries to increase as the league’s business grows.” The union responded in a statement, saying the proposals would “put lipstick on a pig and re-impose a system that is not tied to any part of the business and deliberately undervalues the players.”
In the current CBA, the salary cap increased by a fixed rate (3%) annually, peaking at $1,507,100 in 2025, and a separate revenue sharing provision called for direct payments to players if the league achieved certain revenue goals. That component has not yet been activated during the agreement.
Last month, both sides agreed to a 30-day extension on the existing CBA until November 30, although either side can terminate the agreement with 48 hours’ notice. The league and union have continued bargaining over the past few weeks and most recently held a meeting on Wednesday.
