Charles Barkley believes it’s time for WNBA players to stop pushing in their labor fight against the league.

As talks over a new collective bargaining agreement roll into a league-imposed deadline on March 10, Barkley is issuing a stern warning to the players’ union. In this week’s episode of his podcast The Steam Room, the Hall of Famer turned TNT Sports commentator offered what he believes is a reality check to his comrades in the W.

Barkley encouraged the players to take the best offer now and avoid a strike. He added that it was impractical for the players to expect massive gains on the new CBA, saying “the people who got all the money, they’re going to make the rules.”

“The notion that workers are ever going to overpower billionaires and multimillionaires, that’s never going to happen in any capacity,” Barkley argued.

“Ladies, I want you all to get paid and I wish you the very best. But y’all gotta be very careful. Y’all get in that room and say, ‘Hey let’s make the best deal.’ You don’t want a strike, you don’t want a lockout. I’ve been watching for months, all these people on TV … you can get paid what you can get. You might not get paid what you’re worth. But you can get paid what you can get.”

It’s not every day you hear a former NBA MVP discuss the possibility of class revolution. Unfortunately, Barkley appears dubious of its chances.

More to the point, Barkley believes WNBA players may have overplayed their hand by being so critical of commissioner Cathy Engelbert — and in turn, team owners.

“You could see this damn train wreck coming. I didn’t say anything publicly [but] when y’all start bad-mouthing the commissioner, you have to remember one thing,” Barkley explained.

“The commissioner works for the owners … I like Cathy, but she’s speaking for the owners. So now, all these people on television for the last few months talking about, ‘You women, y’all got these dudes and y’all go the commissioner and y’all got the owners.’ I’m like, well y’all better be careful. Because you know who has power? People who got damn money.”

Barkley offered a similar warning last October, but the situation has gotten far more serious since. Public perception could also turn against players if they push too hard, as ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo recently warned.

All-WNBA forward Napheesa Collier shredded Engelbert in a press conference after last season, saying the league has the “worst leadership in the world.” Around that time, rumors swirled that NBA officials could replace Engelbert sooner than later.

But Engelbert remains in place, and talks have heated up in recent weeks. The league sent a memo to players indicating March 10 was the latest date for a new agreement before the May 8 start date for the 2026 season would be impacted.

Players authorized a strike in December, but recent public comments from top stars have indicated support for such a move has waned. The most recent reported offer from the owners would see minimum salaries rise from less than $70,000 to more than $200,000. The main hurdle in this late stage of talks appears to be the distance between the league’s offer for players to receive less than 15 percent of gross revenue, and the players’ ask for 26 percent of gross revenue in its latest proposal.

Barkley wants the players to take what he sees as a big win rather than continuing to fight a very public labor battle and alienate its business partners in the ownership suites.

“I love the WNBA. I wish you women nothing but the best,” he said. “But this notion that you were just going to hold everybody’s feet to the fire and get whatever y’all wanted, that’s not the way it works. You have to make the best deal possible. But the people who got all the money, they’re going to make the rules.”