New York – after one Three-hour meeting at NBA offices on MondayThe WNBA players union left with the understanding that it would soon have a new proposal on the collective bargaining agreement.
It came Friday evening, when the WNBA presented its latest proposal to the union, a source told ESPN, confirming the news first reported by The Associated Press. This ended a wait of more than six weeks for the players’ union to respond to its final proposal.
It was not immediately known what the league’s new offer included.
Speaking earlier Friday, the president of the WNBA Players Association Nneka Ogwumike He said significant work remains to start the season on time, but he remains confident that games will be played in 2026.
“I know our players want to play 100% this year,” he said in an extensive interview with The Associated Press. “We want a season.”
Before receiving the latest proposal, Ogwumike had said that the league and union, in their attempt to strike a new CBA, were not close on key issues such as revenue sharing. The season is scheduled to begin on May 8, but there must also be an expansion draft, free agency and a rookie draft before the league can begin.
Ogwumike said once the revenue sharing is sorted out, hopefully the rest will be finalized soon.
“We decided that once we got this done, we could do everything else,” Ogwumike said.
The players want about 30% of gross revenue – money generated before expenses – for the first year in their latest proposal. Under the league’s previous proposal, players would receive more than 70% of net revenue, although that would be their profit after paying expenses. Those expenses would include advanced facilities, charter flights, five-star hotels, medical services, security and grounds.
The league’s previous offer last month would have guaranteed a maximum base salary of $1 million in 2026 that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. This is up from the current $249,000 and could rise to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement.
It was on slides that were presented to players at Monday’s meeting and obtained by ESPN and other outlets.
The slides also outlined 37 areas where the league was willing to make concessions that the players wanted. Some of those proposals included adding two developmental player slots to teams, giving pregnant players the right to refuse a trade, increasing guaranteed contracts on a team, and codifying charter flights as well as other first-class travel ideas.
If a new CBA is not agreed upon soon, it could delay the start of the 2026 season. The expansion draft has already been delayed for toronto And portland.
The final CBA was announced in mid-January 2020, a month after it was agreed. It could easily take two months for free agency to begin after the new CBA is reached, which was supposed to begin last month. With massive salary increases expected in the new CBA, 80% of the players in the league are free agents this offseason, making it the largest opportunity for player movement in WNBA history.
A delay would hurt both sides because any games missed would result in loss of revenue, as well as loss of sponsorship, television money and fan support.
Ogwumike, who is in her third term as union president, said the long wait for a response hasn’t been bad because she and union leadership have had a chance to talk with WNBA players. She was in Nashville, Tennessee, with union leadership at Athletes Unlimited on Thursday. This was an opportunity to feel the pulse of the players.
He said, “I really like the fact that we’ve been waiting for an offer for six weeks. It’s given us the gift of time.” “And so, you know, in December, after the strike authorization vote, we were able to meet in Miami and talk to the players.”
Players voted to give union leadership the right to strike in December. Ogwumike said that despite this, a strike is not imminent, although the union has posted a video on social media about the 1964 NBA All-Star Game strike. The NBA All-Star Game is next weekend in Los Angeles.
“Having a strike on the table is something we are very aware of, but there are still a lot of conversations that need to happen,” Ogwumike said. “You know, we’re not just going to say, ‘Hey, today is the day [we’ll strike].’ You know, I think what we’re demonstrating right now is that negotiations are being conducted in good faith.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
