\u2014 The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Here are answers to important questions about where the negotiations stand as the second half of the season gets underway.<\/p>\n Why was last week\u2019s meeting important? What was discussed?<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s meeting in Indy was the first in-person bargaining session that players have attended since December. More than 40 players were present, a union record in its CBA discussions. The meeting was held weeks after the WNBPA received a counterproposal from the league.<\/p>\n Players said that in the first week of February, they submitted an initial version of a proposal to the league. It focused on salary and revenue-sharing systems, the sources said. The union sent supplemental information, then in April submitted a more comprehensive proposal with more than 20 additional pages focused on a variety of topics. The league issued its counterproposal in June.<\/p>\n Multiple players expressed frustration with the league\u2019s response, heightening tension leading into last week\u2019s meeting. The league\u2019s revenue-sharing system was a key topic of conversation, they said.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Sparks forward Kelsey Plum said that at one point in the meeting, she appealed to the commissioner\u2019s legacy. \u201cCathy has an opportunity to make a transformational decision, not just for our league but for women in the workforce,\u201d Plum said. \u201cIt\u2019s a symbol that matters. You start a whole tsunami wave.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cNever have we had this much leverage. Never have we had over 40 players talking to the other side. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n The meeting lasted a couple of hours, and Jackson said that some players sacrificed opportunities for paid appearances to attend.<\/p>\n It\u2019s premature to say agreements were reached in the bargaining session. But multiple players, including Liberty star Breanna Stewart, the union vice president, said progress was made on a policy related to family planning and on another related to retirement benefits.<\/p>\n Who represents the league at CBA meetings?<\/p>\n Engelbert and other executives from the league office, as well as the league\u2019s lawyers, were at last week\u2019s meeting. The WNBA also has a committee of team representatives, who are a mix of owners and senior team leadership. The league\u2019s labor committee is composed of seven representatives from various backgrounds, with different experience levels in the WNBA and from teams in various market sizes. Multiple sources with knowledge of the meetings confirmed to The Athletic that the following team representatives and members of the league\u2019s labor committee attended last Thursday\u2019s meeting:<\/p>\n \u2022 Atlanta Dream \u2014 Suzanne Abair, co-owner and CEO<\/p>\n \u2022 Chicago Sky \u2014 Nadia Rawlinson, co-owner and operating chairperson<\/p>\n \u2022 Connecticut Sun \u2014 Jennifer Rizzotti, team president<\/p>\n \u2022 Indiana Fever \u2014 Kelly Krauskopf, president of basketball and business operations<\/p>\n \u2022 Dallas Wings \u2014 Greg Bibb, managing partner and CEO<\/p>\n \u2022 Seattle Storm \u2014 Ginny Gilder, co-owner<\/p>\n Phoenix Mercury owner Mat Ishbia is also a representative on the league\u2019s labor committee, though the Mercury are the lone team with committee representation not at last Thursday\u2019s meeting and the December meeting, the sources said. The Mercury declined The Athletic\u2019s request to comment regarding their representative\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n What are the sticking points?<\/p>\n Players have been outspoken about their desire for increased salaries \u2014 the league\u2019s current maximum for a player is around $250,000 \u2014 and a revenue-sharing system that does not have a fixed component. The topic appears to be at the crux of the negotiation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf anything is fixed, especially at a small percentage, naturally we\u2019re not actually going to grow with the business,\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cWe\u2019re at a point now where we\u2019re growing, so we want to make sure that as the business grows, the only thing that isn\u2019t capped is the player revenue share.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither side has disclosed the specific terms of their recent proposals. Engelbert said on Saturday: \u201cI think you\u2019ll see the revenue sharing be a much more lucrative one as we go forward because we\u2019re in a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cWe want to significantly increase their salary and benefits while balancing with our owners, their ability to have a path to profitability, as well as continued investment. You see tens of millions of dollars being invested in practice facilities and other player experience by teams. We want to strike the right balance between those two so that can continue.\u201d<\/p>\n While the league and teams combined have not been profitable at any point since inception, the league is closer than ever to making a profit (on a combined league and team basis) as a result of continued growth, sources with knowledge of negotiations said.<\/p>\n Engelbert said Saturday that national TV viewership is up 23 percent year-over-year, attendance is up 26 percent, and merchandise sales are up 40 percent. A new media rights deal with ESPN\/Disney, Amazon and NBC, worth $200 million per season for 11 years, will go into effect next year. And the total new rights fees could have as much as six times the league\u2019s current media rights fees, because the new deals leave room for the WNBA to bring in additional partners. (In June, the WNBA announced<\/a> a new multi-year deal with Scripps\/Ion, for example.)<\/p>\n It stands to reason that with the record media rights deal slated to go into effect and an increase in corporate partnerships and other positive developments, the league has a realistic opportunity to be profitable for the first time in 2026. Of course, any financial projection is difficult to predict without knowing the league\u2019s CBA.<\/p>\n The health of the WNBA business can also be observed in the increase in franchise valuations. The New York Liberty recently raised capital<\/a> from a group of investors at a record valuation for a professional women\u2019s sports franchise of $450 million, with ownership having purchased the franchise as a distressed asset in 2019. League expansion fees have also significantly increased<\/a>; the three teams recently granted to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia were awarded for a record $250 million fee, up from the $50 million the Golden State Valkyries\u2019 ownership group paid in September 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re fighting for what we\u2019re due, what we\u2019re worth, our value,\u201d Liberty guard Natasha Cloud said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be fighting for what they think protects the business. Our job is to find the common ground. But that doesn\u2019t mean we keep taking the crumbs of the pie.\u201d<\/p>\n What is the WNBA\u2019s current revenue-sharing system?<\/p>\n The NBA and WNBA generate significantly different amounts of revenue, and each league\u2019s revenue is allocated differently. For instance, the WNBA\u2019s full charter flight program and other team travel expenses (hotels and ground transportation) cost nine percent of combined league and team revenues, sources said. That percentage is smaller in the NBA.<\/p>\n The two leagues also have different revenue-sharing systems. In the NBA, players take home roughly half of basketball-related income (BRI), while the other half goes to owners. BRI then determines the league\u2019s annual salary cap.<\/p>\n In the WNBA, the league\u2019s current CBA does not explicitly use BRI to determine its salary cap. The CBA sets the salary cap for each year of the agreement; increases between seasons are fixed at a rate of three percent. The league has an additional mechanism for revenue sharing if certain targets are reached. However, that agreement was created in 2020, when the WNBA played a pandemic-impacted bubble season and essentially made no money. Because revenue targets are cumulative, the WNBA hasn\u2019t caught up despite recent rapid growth, preventing all players from benefiting from financial gains.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want a piece of the entire pie, not a piece of part of the pie,\u201d Plum said.<\/p>\n Sparks veteran Kelsey Plum has been outspoken about players receiving a larger share of revenue. (Michael Hickey \/ Getty Images)What other issues are important?<\/p>\n The future WNBA schedule seems to be another important topic in negotiations. Players have said that the league has discussed the possibility of adding more games. This season, teams are playing a record 44 games, the maximum under the current CBA.<\/p>\n Historically, the WNBA plays from mid-May until either mid-September or mid-October. The college season ending in early April, impacting incoming rookies, doesn\u2019t allow for much flexibility in the league\u2019s start date. However, Engelbert said there is slightly more flexibility on seasons\u2019 back ends. In the \u201cnear-term,\u201d especially because of the 2026 FIBA World Cup running in early September, she said the WNBA season could run into November.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure we\u2019re trying to fit our footprint in so that we can support those international competitions, but also have a season worthy of where we are today as a hyper-growth league. We\u2019re trying to strike that right balance from that perspective,\u201d Engelbert said. \u201cAgain, the scheduling is always a Rubik\u2019s cube when you\u2019re dealing with arena, broadcast windows, international competition, things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Is a work stoppage possible?<\/p>\n Both sides sound like they want a new agreement signed by the Oct. 31 deadline. Englebert said she had \u201cconfidence\u201d in reaching a deal.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s possible that they will not reach an agreement by that date. Stewart called Thursday\u2019s meeting a \u201cwasted opportunity\u201d with \u201ca lot of fluff that we couldn\u2019t get past.\u201d<\/p>\n Ogwumike said players haven\u2019t discussed a work stoppage, \u201cat least not recently.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, a WNBPA vice president, said: \u201cIf a lockout is what it comes to, then I think we\u2019re prepared for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Depending on the progress, the sides could agree to an extension before the deadline. That was the case in the 2019-20 talks, as two extensions were agreed to before the current deal was struck on Jan. 14, 2020. The timing of an agreement will also dictate several key offseason events, including an expansion draft for two incoming franchises, the start of free agency and the college draft.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n Stewart said she wants \u201cmore of a sense of urgency\u201d in the talks. Jackson told reporters on Thursday that another meeting is scheduled, although she did not provide specifics on time or place. With the second half of the season underway, the meetings will mostly have to occur virtually.<\/p>\n (Top photo: Erica Denhoff \/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2226069504-1-e1753337489558.jpg\")
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