The WNBA’s players and owners could not reach an agreement for a new collective bargaining agreement during a 12-hour negotiating session that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The league had previously described Wednesday as a deadline to avoid having to reschedule the start of the season due to the labor dispute.
The league has not yet officially changed its schedule, which opens with training camps on April 19.
“Every meeting is a positive meeting,” Terri Camichael Jackson, executive director of the players’ association, told reporters on Wednesday.
She said talks were “going in the right direction.”
“The fact that we scheduled meetings, that we offer dates to schedule meetings, that we actually get together, get in the room,” she said. “I think that’s positive.”
The WNBA players want more money.
The league has seen explosive growth over the last two years, setting records for in-person attendance and TV viewership as teams have moved games to larger venues to accommodate more fans.
The athletes want their share. No WNBA player is asking to receive a LeBron James-style nine-figure deal. However, stars like Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky have said they’re looking to receive a similar cut as some of the NBA’s stars.
The WNBA’s players received less than 10% of the league’s total revenue in 2024. Their male counterparts received about half of the NBA’s revenue that year.
Reported collective bargaining agreement proposals from the WNBA players featured the athletes receiving 26% of gross revenues. The league’s counteroffer looked to split the players’ share after subtracting the cost of running the league, giving the players 70% of net revenue.
Representatives from the players’ union criticized the league’s initial offer for only providing the athletes with about 15% of gross revenue.
The financial viability of the WNBA has been a running controversy. The league has often operated in the red, relying on support from the NBA to stay afloat during its early years.
But times are changing.
For the first time in its history, the league made enough money last season to trigger revenue sharing with players. The now-expired collective bargaining agreement that was signed in 2020 allowed players to receive half of “shared revenue,” proceeds above a certain threshold. Players still had 30% of that revenue subtracted for league expenses.
The WNBA’s players received a total of $16 million from last year’s revenue split.
“This shows our value and how what we’re fighting for makes sense and how we should keep fighting,” Brianna Turner, treasurer for the players’ union, told ESPN last month.
Representatives from the league and the players’ union appear to differ on the expectations for a new salary cap as well. Owners want to keep that number as low as possible, with their initial proposal featuring a $5.75 million limit on payroll spending.
The players have proposed a $9.5 million cap.
The initial offers from the union and league officials were publicly released, but it’s unclear how much compromise the two sides have made in more recent exchanges. No representatives from either group have released updated proposals for the collective bargaining agreement.
The WNBA’s players have gathered more support from across the sports world as negotiations have continued.
“Go get your money,” Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson told the women at a recent press conference. “Go for it. That’s what it’s about. The explosion of the WNBA, I have to be honest, three years ago I probably wasn’t watching the WNBA. Now I watch to learn.”
“The players want to play. At the end of the day, that’s the biggest thing,” Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner told Front Office Sports. “They do need to get what they deserve and I think they’re not going to stand for anything less.”
The WNBA draft is slated for April 13. Training camps are expected to start a week later, with the first regular-season games set for May 8.
“We’ve got to get this deal done,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We’ve got to get it done soon.”
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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