LOS ANGELES – With just over a week remaining until the Jan 9 deadline for a new Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) collective bargaining agreement, the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) are not close to a deal, ESPN reported on Dec 31.

The report indicates that the league and players association are very far apart on a number of basic points, including what the revenue-sharing system, which the league currently does not have, could look like, what could be considered revenue and the process of accounting for expenses.

The league is reportedly claiming that the latest proposal from the WNBPA – 30 per cent of gross revenue for the players and a salary cap of around US$10.5 million (S$13.5 million) – would not be sustainable for the league to survive, costing the WNBA approximately US$700 million over the length of the pact.

The last reported proposal from the WNBA side offered 50-plus-per cent of net revenue (revenue subtracting expenses), raising average salaries from US$120,000 to US$530,000 and max salaries from US$249,244 to US$1.3 million immediately and close to US$2 million over the course of the deal.

The WNBA’s proposed salary cap is US$5 million, with growth in line with revenue sharing over the deal.

Just after Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier’s team were eliminated from the play-offs in September, Collier, the WNBPA vice-president, called a press conference and said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was providing the “worst leadership in the world”.

“For too long, I have tried to have these conversations in private,” Collier added.

“But it’s clear there’s no intention of accepting there’s a problem (with the league’s officiating, in particular). The league has made it clear, it isn’t about innovation. It isn’t about collaboration. It’s about control and power.”

In mid-December, the WNBA’s players voted to give WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and the executive committee the authority to potentially initiate a strike.

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

The WNBA is scheduled to introduce expansion teams in Portland and Toronto in 2026 to bring its number of teams to 15. A strike, if set into motion, could affect that timeline, with the season scheduled to begin in May. REUTERS

Basketball playersUnited StatesSports and recreation