Labor negotiations, potential strike threaten surging WNBA’s upcoming season

Labor woes are threatening the WNBA’s explosive growth. Despite surging ratings and a juicy new broadcast deal, the league’s players’ association has authorized a strike amid stalled negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

The players want a significant increase in their current revenue share. The 9.3% of league revenue they received in 2024 was significantly lower than every other major league. The NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL all split about 50% of revenue with athletes.

The comparatively young MLS may present a more apt benchmark for the rising WNBA. The soccer league recently agreed to a new deal with its players that gives them 12.5% of revenue in 2023, with guidelines to increase the players’ share to 25% in the following years.

The WNBA’s players aren’t asking for NBA money. They’re hoping for a more substantive piece of the pie and are willing to strike to get it.

“Through a decisive vote with historic participation, our membership has authorized the WNBPA’s Executive Committee to call a strike when necessary,” the players’ association said in a statement earlier this month. “The players’ decision is an unavoidable response to the state of negotiations with the WNBA and its teams.”

The players claimed the league is “draconian” in its resistance to change. WNBA officials say they’ve offered salary increases and added benefits in labor negotiations.

“It is difficult to understand claims that the league is resistant to change, particularly given that we are proposing numerous CBA modifications including significant immediate salary increases and a new uncapped revenue-sharing model that would ensure continued salary growth tied to revenue growth,” a league spokesperson said in a statement.

The two sides were supposed to reach an agreement by Oct. 31. They mutually agreed to push the deadline to Nov. 30 before a second extension moved the end date to Jan. 9.

A work stoppage — which would be the first in WNBA history — seems increasingly likely. More than 90% of players approved a potential strike this month.

“The players’ vote is neither a call for an immediate strike nor an intention to pursue one. Rather, it is an emphatic affirmation of the players’ confidence in their leadership and their unwavering solidarity against ongoing efforts to divide, conquer, and undervalue them,” the union said. “Let it be known. The players remain united, resolute, and prepared to fight for their value and their future.”

The stalled talks have dampened the league’s red-hot vibes, which kicked into high gear when the Indiana Fever selected Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 pick in 2024.

The WNBA shattered in-person attendance records last season as Clark and rival Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky brought legions of fans to sold-out arenas across the country.

Ratings have similarly peaked, with the last two WNBA Finals becoming the league’s most-watched ever. The WNBA regular-season broadcasts averaged 1.2 million viewers per game in 2025, a 5% spike from the already inflated numbers of 2024.

But players are rocking grimaces instead of million-dollar smiles.

At a USA Basketball camp this month, Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum called the talks “a little bit disheartening, just the frustration in the negotiation and how far away we are.”

“That’s what our fans crave — the product on the floor,” Clark said at the same camp. “That’s what the fans want to show up for. So, it’s business, and it’s a negotiation, and there has to be compromise on both sides. And we’re starting to get down to the wire of it.”

The most recent offer from the WNBA would set maximum salaries at $1 million for 2026, though the full compensation could approach $1.3 million through a revenue-sharing system. The proposal would allow salaries to grow to $2 million, according to multiple reports.

The league’s average salary currently hovers around $120,000. The WNBA offer to players would raise that level to $530,000 next season while bumping minimum salaries from $67,000 to $250,000.

The players aren’t impressed.

“They still want to pay coaches more than they pay an A’ja Wilson or Napheesa Collier,” Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams said on a livestream on Tuesday, referring to the winner and runner-up in last season’s MVP race.

Leaders from the players’ union are lobbying for a more substantively overhauled setup, though. Their ideal system would see players receive 30% of revenue, up from the approximately 15% they currently have. The league’s proposed revenue share would tie the player’s cut to net profits instead of the gross handle.

“I think everybody’s really intentional about what we want,” Reese said this month. “I think the players and WNBPA have done a great job making sure we’re all together. We’re riding together on everything. I’m preparing for a season like everybody else is, but we have to come to a negotiation; it’s really important for us to come to a common ground that we can all agree on; it’s all fair, and everybody benefits from it.”

Any compromise will have to arrive by Jan. 9. Any further delays could threaten the league’s planned expansion draft — the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo are slated to join the WNBA in 2026 — and the free agency period, which was originally expected to begin in late January.

If the WNBA’s players do strike, many of them would likely turn to a pair of competing leagues that have cropped up. Unrivaled, the three-on-three league founded by Collier and former MVP Breanna Stewart, opens its second season on Jan. 5.

Project B, a planned international league that has already signed 10 WNBA players, is expected to begin play in November.