1 year ago
22
Associated Press
Jul 15, 2025, 10:38 AM ET
NEW YORK -- The WNBA players national and league officials person overmuch to sermon erstwhile they beryllium down this week for their archetypal in-person talks arsenic a radical since December astir the caller corporate bargaining agreement.
After sharing archetypal proposals, the 2 sides seemingly are acold isolated successful the aboriginal negotiations arsenic they hole for their archetypal face-to-face gathering that includes the players enforcement assembly successful Indianapolis connected Thursday heading into All-Star weekend.
"We got a connection from the league, which was honestly a slap successful the face," Phoenix Mercury guardant and national rep Satou Sabally said.
Increased salaries, gross sharing and roster size are 3 areas wherever the national expect to spot large changes from the existent CBA that volition expire astatine the extremity of this play aft the players decided to opt retired past year. Nearly each the players who aren't connected rookie standard contracts close present volition beryllium escaped agents aft this play and looking for large wage increases.
Union president Nneka Ogwumike, who has present been a portion of 3 CBA negotiations, is optimistic that Thursday's gathering could beryllium beneficial for some sides since it's in-person. The 2 sides person had meetings implicit the past fewer months, but this volition beryllium the archetypal clip that each the players connected the enforcement assembly volition beryllium there.
Ogwumike said "when you're doing things via documents, erstwhile you're doing things via proxy, whether it's ... our national unit and league staff," it's different. But "when you're sitting astatine the table, things a batch of times, successful my experience, you get done a small spot much efficiently."
The WNBA is experiencing unprecedented maturation crossed astir each concern metric from attendance and viewership. There's besides the caller $2.2 cardinal media rights woody that volition commencement adjacent play and the league plans to grow to 18 teams by 2030 with each of the 3 caller teams paying $250 cardinal enlargement fee.
"It's absorbing that there's a $250 cardinal enlargement fee, and there's nary openness to person that beryllium reflected successful gross stock that goes to the players, particularly arsenic we're experiencing growth," Ogwumike said. "It doesn't marque a batch of consciousness to me, but we're hoping we tin get immoderate clarity connected that successful Indiana."
Ogwumike said the players had submitted a connection successful February that the league yet responded to past month. She was amazed it took truthful agelong for the league to respond with its proposal, saying that it seemed that the league misunderstood the union's archetypal offer.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said astatine the draught successful April that the union's archetypal connection wasn't comprehensive, but that she besides is optimistic that a woody would get done.
"We'll get thing done and it'll beryllium transformational," she said. "These things instrumentality time."
The cardinal happening for the commissioner is that the caller CBA protects the sustainability of the league going forward.
"We privation to person a just woody for all, but it has to beryllium wrong the confines of a sustainable economical exemplary that goes connected for 10 years," she said. "We've had a fewer years of large maturation ... but we request to proceed to marque definite that we tin money the things that the players are asking for, that we privation for them, too."
If a woody isn't done by the extremity of October, immoderate players, including Napheesa Collier and Angel Reese, person mentioned the imaginable of a walkout.
"From the players' perspective, it's hard to beryllium capable to navigate this during the mediate of the season, but besides we cognize however important it is and truly getting it done earlier the extremity of October and we're making that effort to beryllium capable to bash both," national vice president Breanna Stewart said. "The information that it's been a small spot dilatory to commencement is tough, but hopeful things volition ramp up present aft getting their connection back. We person a large gathering successful Indy astatine All-Star and it's going to beryllium spicy."
