Fri, October 31, 2025
WNBA and WNBPA agree to extend collective bargaining agreement deadline
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) – a women's professional basketball league in the United States - and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) - the union that represents the players of the WNBA - have agreed to extend the deadline of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to November 30, 2025, a 30-day extension put forward by the league. The WNBPA agreed that a CBA agreement was “not going to happen” by the original deadline.
Since the terms and conditions of the players’ employment still have not been agreed, a work stoppage is possible, with the owners possibly locking out the players or the players going on strike. The WNBPA is calling for “minimum standards for game and practice facilities, better retirement benefits and family planning and pregnancy benefits.” However, the main area that the WNBA and WNBPA cannot agree on includes the model for salaries and revenue distribution.
This has been an ongoing issue. On July 19, 2025, WNBA players sported shirts which bore the message “pay us what you owe us” whilst warming up for a game.
Reports in 2024 said that the WNBA was due to lose $40m. However, the league’s attendance hit a new record in 2025, and its broadcast rights have increased from zero in 2002 to around $60 million a year, with that number set to increase to $200 million as part of its combined deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA), according to The Guardian.
Additionally, revenue jumped from $102 million in 2019 to the $180 million - $200 million range in 2023, Bloomberg reported.
Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, the owners of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries and the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, pay 37-year-old Stephen Curry nearly $60m a year. They reportedly pay the entire Valkyries roster barely $1 million.
Naturally, the less a league makes, the lower the share of revenue its players get, but WNBA players are reportedly making less than 10%, a rather low figure especially for a professional organisation.
NBA players effectively receive around 50% of league revenues under the NBA CBA. WNBA players believe their salaries do not reflect WNBA growth, which they are mainly responsible for creating. Naturally, they do not want the same absolute dollar amount as NBA players, since the NBA has much higher revenue, but they believe they should receive a higher revenue percentage than they currently do.
However, the league prefers fixed salaries for WNBA players and does not want to tie salaries and benefits to league revenue in the same way as players do for sustainability reasons. The WNBA supports a model in which there is a fixed salary cap and additional revenue sharing, but only if league revenue exceeds certain targets.
A WNBA spokesperson said the league submitted a proposal to the WNBPA on 1 October. The proposal, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiation, included a maximum salary of $850,000, which is a significant increase.
The WNBPA stated that the WNBA has: “Retread a system that isn’t tied to any part of the business and intentionally undervalues the players.”
Minnesota Lynx player, Napheesa Collier, stated that Cathy Engelbert’s management of the league is “the worst in the world” during an exit interview. She stated that Engelbert did not care to develop a relationship with the players.
Conversely, the WNBA stated that the players are not engaging “in any meaningful way” to ensure an agreement is reached.
This is not the first time an extension has been required. In 2019, a 60-day extension was agreed between the two and the deal was signed in January 2020.
Star WNBA player, Caitlin Clark, among others have also voiced their frustration with WNBA officiating.
When discussing a match, Becky Hammon, Las Vegas Aces coach, stated: “These players are incredibly skilled, and that should be highlighted. I don't know if they get a bonus for not calling fouls in the playoffs…
Some of the hits that I saw in the Atlanta-Indiana game, if I did that to you in the street, I would be arrested. But on a WNBA court, it's nothing to see here.”
