{"id":415668,"date":"2026-01-17T16:33:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/415668\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T16:33:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T16:33:32","slug":"rebecca-lobo-takes-issue-with-wnba-players-cba-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/415668\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebecca Lobo takes issue with WNBA players\u2019 CBA language"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exasperation with the WNBA is high right now when it comes to fan perception. <\/p>\n

This is not just because it’s in the depths of the league’s offseason, but because the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations have gone on for over a year at this point. Recent suggestions indicate that the two sides aren’t all that close to coming to a deal, which could threaten a potential lockout<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Fans want players to get paid what they’re worth. But fans also want to see the product on the court. And from a fan’s perspective, the recent reports of a max salary above $1 million, a $5 million salary cap, and a roughly 70% share of net revenue all sound pretty good. <\/p>\n

\"WNBA<\/p>\n

Oct 3, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert talks during a presser before the start of game one of the 2025 WNBA Finals between the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Rebecca Lobo cautions WNBA players on language amid CBA talks<\/p>\n

Women’s basketball icon addressed her stance on how players are handling these negotiations during her January 16 appearance on the A Touch More podcast. <\/p>\n

After noting that the CBA deal that’s currently on the table for the players, “Looks like a pretty amazing deal,” Lobo said, “It seems like the sides are farther apart than they should be, though, for this point in time. I’m hopeful they’ll come together.” <\/p>\n

She later added, \u201cSome of the rhetoric I\u2019ve heard from their side has been a little bit troublesome. When a deal is presented that\u2019s over a million [dollar] max salary and revenue share, it\u2019s called a \u2018slap in the face.\u2019<\/a> Like, just use different words. And I\u2019m worried the players might be getting to a point where they might be losing some of the support from the public. And I think that has been a big part of this all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lobo then noted that when the players donned the ‘Pay Us What You Use Us’ shirts at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, it felt like support for them was “100%” from the fan base. <\/p>\n

\"Team<\/p>\n

Jul 19, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Team Collier guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks on before the 2025 WNBA All Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cAs these negotiations have gone on, it feels like some of [fan support] is waning. And I think some of it has just been the language and the verbiage and that sort of thing that we\u2019ve heard from the players\u2019 association. I think the players just need to be a little bit more careful with how they\u2019re articulating things, because if you\u2019re working whatever job, a max salary of $1.2 million, average salary of $500,000\u2014if you don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair, that\u2019s fine. But don\u2019t call it a slap in the face,” she added. <\/p>\n

“There are things that need to be done a little bit better when it comes to the language during these negotiations,” she concluded. <\/p>\n

Lobo is speaking for many fans with these comments.<\/p>\n

Recommended Reading:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exasperation with the WNBA is high right now when it comes to fan perception. This is not just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-415668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}