However, the best-case scenario is that everything gets done without any work stoppages. So, how realistic is that, and where do things currently stand?<\/p>\n
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the latest proposal by the league includes a revenue-sharing model that would provide players up to 70 percent of net revenue. This model would increase the average salary to above $530,000, which is a 340 percent increase from the current $120,000 average. These numbers are for the first year of the deal. The average salary then is projected to grow to more than $780,000 during the duration of the agreement, sources say.<\/p>\n
The max salaries would also get a significant boost, starting at $1 million in the first year. Depending on the revenue sharing figures, maximums could rise to as much as $1.3 million. And during the duration of the deal, the max salary could rise as high as $2 million, with the opportunity for multiple players on a team to earn the max.<\/p>\n
Recently, Breanna Stewart, a WNBPA vice president, told <\/a>Front Office Sports<\/a> that she was \u201cjust starting to see\u201d the light at the end of the tunnel in these negotiations.<\/p>\n That sounds good, and the numbers the league is reportedly offering are a substantial improvement, but a deal still has yet to be reached.<\/p>\n One significant obstacle is what the players and the league are sharing<\/a>. The WNBA is offering the aforementioned 70 percent net revenue, while the players want 30 percent gross revenue. The big difference here is that net revenue is the money left after expenses are deducted, whereas gross revenue is the determined before deducting the cost of running the league.<\/p>\n According to ESPN\u2019s Alexa Philippou\u2019s<\/a> latest assessment of the negotiations, \u201cthe owners are unlikely to significantly yield on their revenue sharing position, though there is wiggle room at the cost of other expenses they\u2019d incur under the players\u2019 current proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n Player salaries also remain a point of disagreement between the two sides.<\/p>\n Back in December, Philippou reported<\/a> that the union proposed an average player salary of $1 million, with a maximum of $2.5 million. Of the proposal, which the players shared with the league in November, Phillippou wrote:<\/p>\n According to a document obtained by ESPN that was shared with players, the WNBPA proposed a compensation system last month with a projected salary cap of approximately $12.5 million in 2026, over eight times the 2025 cap. That Nov. 28 proposal also included approximately a $1 million average player salary and maximum player salary of $2.5 million, 20 percent of the proposed salary cap\u2014altogether marking the first reported salary figures from the players\u2019 side of the bargaining table.<\/p>\n Philippou further reported<\/a> that the players subsequently proposed a lower team salary cap number of $10.5 million. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the league is currently proposing a team salary cap of $5 million.<\/p>\n Last Friday, FOS\u2019 Annie Costabile first reported<\/a> that \u201cthe players\u2019 union was still waiting on a response from the league to a proposal it sent nearly a month ago.\u201d On Wednesday, ESPN and Philippou confirmed<\/a> that the WNBPA \u201cis still awaiting an official response from the league since sending it a proposal a month ago.\u201d<\/p>\n The WNBA, according to Philippou<\/a>, \u201cbelieves the proposal didn\u2019t warrant a response, since it wasn\u2019t that different from the past ones the union has submitted.\u201d League sources told ESPN<\/a> that they were \u201cwaiting for the players to submit what it would consider a more \u2018realistic\u2019 proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n So, maybe that light at the end of the tunnel that Stewart is starting to see is not that bright?<\/p>\n With the WNBA already setting the start of the season for May 8<\/a>, the time is now to reach an agreement.<\/p>\n Strike? Compromise? Keep negotiating?<\/p>\n Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n What are your thoughts on the current state of CBA negotiations? Do you just want things to get done, anyway and anyhow? Are you worried about missing games? Is there anything you\u2019re confused about? Share your thoughts, questions and more on The Feed<\/a>.<\/p>\n If both sides can compromise a bit<\/a>, a deal can still be reached without disrupting WNBA action. The sport is growing rapidly, and killing that momentum at this critical juncture could prove costly for everyone involved. Per Costabile<\/a>, those with knowledge of owners\u2019 perspectives \u201chave repeated that [owners] have no interest in invoking a lockout,\u201d and while the players voted to authorize the executive committee to initiate a strike, they did so as \u201ca measure of preparedness and not an indication of if or when they would strike.\u201d<\/p>\n Balancing all this is easier said than done, but that\u2019s what the current job entails for both sides. Hopefully, the new CBA is on the horizon, and Stewart is right: There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and a new day for the WNBA is about to dawn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Until the WNBA and WNBPA agree to a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), there will be plenty of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-440963","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\/440963","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=440963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Napheesa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/gettyimages-2225443152.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n