LAS VEGAS — As Napheesa Collier criticized the WNBA on Tuesday for a lack of accountability and failure to properly value its players, an important takeaway emerged: With one month remaining before the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement, players believe they are nowhere near a new deal with the league.

“There’s been multiple proposals that have gone back and forth, and neither is close,” WNBPA first vice president Kelsey Plum said. “It feels almost the more that we have presented, the further away we are, which is just unfortunate. But at the end of the day, I think it’s just about the principle of not budging. And we have leverage, we have unity, we have a common goal, particularly in salary, and we’re just not where we want to be.”

Last year, the players’ union opted out of the present CBA, which was set to expire in 2027. The deadline to come to a new agreement is Oct. 31. The league and union can agree to an extension, as they did in 2019. For now, the two sides remain far apart, many players said.

Collier didn’t alert the members of the WNBPA, or even the executive committee, ahead of her statement that criticized commissioner Cathy Englebert and the league. However, players are widely in agreement with her sentiments and the state of negotiations for the new CBA.

“Not great, not where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time,” Las Vegas guard and union player representative Chelsea Gray said. “We’re not where we should be or we thought we would be when we decided to opt out. … It’s not anywhere where we thought it would be. It’s market share, it’s salaries, it’s player safety, it’s everything. I wouldn’t say that we’re where we want to be for maybe one thing.”

Players have identified revenue sharing as the primary sticking point in a new agreement. They said they aren’t sufficiently benefiting from the growth of the WNBA in the current incremental revenue sharing model. Tying revenue growth to salaries will allow players to participate in the boom of the business.

There are other issues of importance in the CBA, including codifying charter travel, player safety and maternity protections, among others. However, players said they will not agree to a deal that does not increase player compensation.

“That’s the thing, if me and you aren’t set on going to the correct restaurant, who cares what we’re ordering as an appetizer?” Plum said. “First, second, third is rev share (and) salary. So when I say that we continue to propose and the counter proposals that are coming back are further away from where we thought we would be, that to me is — and I think a lot of the players are in agreement as a union — this is literally the meat and potatoes.”

The players are directing their criticism on the lack of progress at the league’s leadership, which Collier called the worst in the world.

“Our league is at a spot that it hasn’t been in the past 10 years. We’re growing exponentially, and we need change to mirror that,” Fever union representation Lexie Hull said. “I think where the players see the league going is different than where leadership sees the league going, and somehow we need to see that align, and I think the CBA negotiations will hopefully get us there.”

“We’re the players that are driving this change, and regardless of how it’s said, I think the messaging stands the same from the players’ perspective,” Hull added. “Things need to change. The reffing needs to change. Leadership needs to change.”

Plum said she wants the league leadership to hold itself accountable. They claim to want the same growth as the players do, as Engelbert said in her response to Collier’s remarks. But discussions remain “combative,” Plum said, between the two sides.

“Players have answered the call in my opinion of showing up, delivering stellar performances like competitions, rivalries, and I think it’s the league’s turn to take that step with us,” Plum said. “The way Cathy responds will say a lot about what’s gonna happen in the next six months for our league.”

(Photo of Cathy Englebert: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)