October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThey need to be very careful, they\u2019re walking on thin ice right now,\u201d Barkley said before citing his own experiences with labor negotiations in the NBA. \u201cI know they\u2019re doing some great things, but you can\u2019t overplay your hand\u2026as a league that had Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and a hundred great players, I think we went on strike three times. So, this notion, just cause you got power and talent these billionaire owners are just gonna give you everything you want, that\u2019s not gonna happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can overplay your hand,\u201d Barkley continued. \u201cIn the NBA, we were like, \u2018No, we\u2019re not gonna strike. They need us.\u2019 You know what I was doing? Sitting my Black ass at home, unemployed\u2026playing damn tiddlywinks.\u201d<\/p>\n
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert have both expressed confidence that a deal will be reached with the players, even if it\u2019s not before the Oct. 31 deadline. But the players are rightfully seeking sizeable pay increases considering the WNBA\u2019s substantial growth in recent seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be careful overplaying your hand,\u201d Barkley repeated. \u201cOne thing about people who make money, they\u2019re never gonna be billionaires. Billionaires always have the upper hand on millionaires. No matter how many millions you got, you\u2019re not a billionaire. So, you always have to be careful overplaying your hand. What you do is, you try to make the best deal possible in the moment and keep growing, but you have to be careful overplaying your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although, it\u2019s not really billionaires vs. millionaires in the WNBA. And for the WNBA players who are millionaires, those earnings came from endorsements more than whatever amounts the team owners are shelling out. The highest base salary this season is Kelsey Mitchell at $249,000, while Caitlin Clark earned just $78,000. This is why WNBA players launched Unrivaled, as a way of earning higher salaries in the offseason. But according to Barkley, Unrivaled doesn\u2019t necessarily provide the bulk of WNBA players more leverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they screw around and go on strike, a bunch of those star players could go to Unrivaled, and they could start their own league,\u201d Barkley said, noting it would still leave a lot of players looking for work. \u201cThat would screw all the other players in the WNBA. But you have to understand something\u2026everybody is not on the same playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The WNBA is at a crossroads right now. A potential work stoppage could stunt some of the historic momentum the league has built in recent seasons, but players are far from being properly compensated for their role in the growth. And as a new CBA is negotiated, both sides can attempt to use the growth as their own leverage.<\/p>\n
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