The WNBA and Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association are not expected to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement by the Friday deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For more than two months<\/a>, sources have told Front Office Sports that Oct. 31 was going to come and go without a new CBA. On Tuesday, The Athletic published a new episode<\/a> of the No Offseason podcast in which union lawyer Erin D. Drake said a deal will not be reached by Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have worked hard to be able to say on Friday, we did it. Unfortunately, that\u2019s not going to happen,\u201d Drake said. \u201cIn a dance, it takes two to tango. And it has been difficult to find a beat, to find a rhythm and to find the same sense of urgency [from the league],\u00a0just to be frank, to get this done.\u201d<\/p>\n The league vehemently denied the union\u2019s assertion that urgency has been lacking on their part. In a statement to FOS, a league spokesperson said their most recent proposal was made to the WNBPA on Oct. 1. The union\u2019s response, according to the league, came Oct. 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout this process, we have been clear that our top priority is reaching a new collective bargaining agreement that addresses players\u2019 ask for significant increases in pay, benefits and enhancements to their experience, while ensuring the long-term growth and success of the league and its teams,\u201d a spokesperson for the WNBA said. \u201cWe urge the Players Association to spend less time disseminating public misinformation and more time joining us in constructive engagement across the table.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest back-and-forth between the league and the union comes after trading barbs last week following NBA commissioner Adam Silver\u2019s comments on the Today show<\/a>. Silver said that \u201cshare isn\u2019t the right way to look at it\u201d when it comes to WNBA labor negotiations, instead saying that player compensation should be looked at in \u201cabsolute numbers.\u201d (The WNBA has its own commissioner in Cathy Engelbert, but she reports to Silver, and the NBA owns 42% of the WNBA.)<\/p>\n In response, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson accused the league of \u201crunning out the clock\u201d and putting \u201clipstick on a pig\u201d as they continue to push a proposal that isn\u2019t based on a revenue-sharing system like the NBA\u2019s.<\/p>\n Multiple sources told FOS that the league\u2019s most recent proposal<\/a> included substantial increases to player salaries\u2014a supermax near $850,000 and a veteran minimum around $300,000\u2014but a revenue-sharing model similar to the current structure, which is implemented only if certain cumulative targets are hit and includes just league office revenue, not team revenue. The WNBA claims it has proposed an \u201cuncapped\u201d revenue-sharing model directly tied to the league\u2019s performance.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n