The WNBA and WNBAPA are still hashing things out in negotiations for the league’s next collective bargaining agreement. One thing that feels like a certainty is that the league will have a player make over $1 million in salary for the first time.
A pay increase relative to the massive income the league is generating is one of the union’s priorities. Last season, even stars like Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark made a brutally low amount in base salary relative to the exponential financial growth of the league.
This has led many, even some of the league’s top players, to supplement thier income by playing in other leagues during the WNBA’s offseason. Unrivaled, a three-on-three league, has emerged as a domestic option over the last couple of seasons, but a lot of players are still playing abroad.
One of those players is four-time All-Stat Brionna Jones, who has been playing for the Czech club USK Praha. Unfortunately, the offseason leagues can take a physical toll, as Jones found out.
The WNBA free agent suffered a torn ACL overseas and will miss the remainder of USK Praha’s season, per ESPN’s Alexa Philipopou. Jones is set to return to the United States for reconstructive surgery.
If a collective bargaining deal is agreed upon, the WNBA season will tip off on May 8, and Jones’s injury serves as a harsh but critical reminder of why it’s imperative that the WNBA starts to pay its players their worth.