NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Players run up and down a basketball court in a converted concert hall preparing for their first full weekend of games with Athletes Unlimited. Nneka Ogwumike sits in a chair along the baseline as balls swish through the net above her.<\/p>\n
With less than three months to go until the WNBA season is scheduled to start, CBA negotiations remain deadlocked on the issues of salary structure and revenue sharing. Ogwumike, the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association president, has arrived in Nashville with union executive director Terri Jackson. They\u2019re here to debrief the players, many of whom exist outside the WNBA spotlight, on developments in their quest for a \u201ctransformational\u201d collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n
The specter of a work stoppage hovers over it all. On Dec. 18, the union voted to authorize calling a strike \u201cwhen necessary,\u201d and some voices around the league wondered if the time was drawing near.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s not imminent at this point,\u201d executive committee treasurer Brianna Turner told ESPN. \u201cIt\u2019s still early February, like we\u2019re still going. So I feel like we\u2019re still in a waiting game at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The league did send a revised proposal\u00a0Feb. 6 that reportedly included concessions on housing and facility standards but did not include a significant change in revenue sharing.<\/p>\n
Amid the murky WNBA outlook, Athletes Unlimited tipped off its fifth season Feb. 4 at Nashville\u2019s Municipal Auditorium. Unlike Unrivaled — the 3-on-3 league in Miami — Athletes Unlimited is not positioned as a league that showcases WNBA superstars. Of the 40 athletes playing in AU, 26 appeared on WNBA rosters in some capacity last season. Some of them are well-paid veterans, some are rookies, some picked up short-term hardship contracts and some play for the veteran minimum. Others are still dreaming of their WNBA debut.<\/p>\n
This group of players arguably has the most at stake in the negotiations. The number of guaranteed contracts is on the table. So are parental leave policies. And housing.<\/p>\n
ESPN spoke with a dozen AU players with WNBA ties, on the condition of anonymity, about their thoughts on the state of the WNBA and the CBA negotiations.<\/p>\n
On a scale of 1-10, how confident are you that there will be a full WNBA season?<\/p>\n
Players gave a wide range of responses to this question, but they landed on cautious optimism that the season could start on time May 8. The average score was a 6.1. One pessimistic outlier answered with a 2. The most common answer was a 5, which sums up the general shoulder-shrug vibe as negotiations have stalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re gonna have a season. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll be the whole season.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like we\u2019re asking for a lot. I know we deserve it, but at the same time, it\u2019s kind of like we\u2019re kind of getting greedy. We\u2019re doing a lot of asking. I feel like we need to do a lot of doing.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to lean more towards the positive side. So I\u2019m going to say an 8 because I know the amazing people that we have to support us — the women in the [negotiating] chairs.”<\/p>\n
\u201cFull W season? I feel pretty confident. Um. … Full? I feel like a 9.”<\/p>\n
How would a lost WNBA paycheck affect you?<\/p>\n
Who knew that some of the world\u2019s most elite basketball players were also first-class money managers? Most players said they\u2019ll be all right, with or without the W stacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not making an insane amount for it to be a really big deal. Fortunately, I\u2019ve been around these last few years and been able to make more off court. But I still want it. I\u2019m fighting to have another year in the league. I would love to have a season where I\u2019m able to make more money and really just feel even more comfortable in life and be able to do more for my family.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done a good job about saving up, just in case that scenario does happen. I\u2019m super casual. So, yeah, I\u2019m fortunate enough to be in a good position.”<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would impact me immensely. It\u2019s my job, so it would be a big deal.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty set up off the court, so it wouldn\u2019t. If it\u2019s the W paycheck we make now, it wouldn\u2019t bother me. If it\u2019s a big W paycheck and an upgrade, you know, I could use it!”<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of endorsements and NIL, so I wouldn\u2019t say that would really impact me. But I would say the [inability] to play the sport that you love will affect a lot of players because some of us really, really love the sport of basketball, and being able to go out there and play — that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been doing our whole life.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very fortunate that my family has taught me good financial advice and saving and investing. I have money saved up. I\u2019m OK, but I also know that not everyone is in my position.”<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney is money. I would love my paycheck.”<\/p>\n
On a scale of 1-10, how anxious are you feeling about negotiations?<\/p>\n
Though players expressed uncertainty about the possibility of playing a full WNBA season, that didn\u2019t translate to significant anxiety about the negotiations. One person put her anxiety level at a 10, but the majority of players said they aren\u2019t worried, or at least they aren\u2019t going to worry about what\u2019s beyond their control. The average was 3.2.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think [the league and owners] just feel that we\u2019re gonna just sign, and we\u2019re not. We\u2019re gonna just sit out if that\u2019s the case. Like, we deserve it.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI ain\u2019t worried about it. Like it\u2019s either gonna happen or it\u2019s not. I can\u2019t worry about it. Not gonna stress myself over something I can\u2019t control.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a good level of faith and understanding of what\u2019s going on with those that are on our [executive committee]. They know what they\u2019re talking about, and we\u2019re on the same page.”<\/p>\n
Do you feel represented in these negotiations as someone who is not among the top tier of WNBA earners?<\/p>\n
For every max salary player, there\u2019s somebody making the league minimum. Their CBA needs are not the same. And they know it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, and no. I feel like [power] comes with the hype behind your name, or like the meaning behind your name. But at the same time, it\u2019s kind of like, \u2018Hey, think about us. I know you guys are top earners, but at the end of the day, you also need us.\u2019 There could be no league.”<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, yes, I do. Especially being [at Athletes Unlimited], having conversations with people on the executive committee, conversations I\u2019ve had with Nneka. I feel like this representation is very different than the last CBA negotiations. We\u2019re being louder. I feel like people had concerns in the last CBA, but kind of were stomped out by the one percenters, I call them. But I feel like this time around, we\u2019re holding firm.”<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I feel good about what people have been saying. Even though everybody on the EC can\u2019t relate to all the other players, I think we have some representation in there. And I think other people understand where we went wrong last CBA, in not taking care of the middle-of-the-pack players. And so, you know, hopefully we don\u2019t see it happening.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so. On the [Feb. 2] call, there were a few players who were kind of in my position. And I do feel like what they spoke to was very true for myself as well. So I think we are getting, yes, the superstars, but also the [veteran minimum] players, the role players. This league is 144, or more now, it\u2019s not only about the top 20 players, right? The rest of the league has to matter. And I do feel like my voice was heard.”<\/p>\n
On a scale of 1-10, how informed do you feel about the CBA negotiations?<\/p>\n
The union leadership gets high grades in communication. Players answered consistently that they feel very informed about the ongoing negotiations, often answering with a 9 or 10. The lowest answer was a 5, and the average was 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel very informed right now. I\u2019m always open to sit down and learn and be educated about it.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know about the [league] side. I know [the players], we are very, 100% confident in what we stand on.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like they need to help us out with just a little more. They need to, like, break it down, not dumb it down, but just make it concise and simple. The younger generation\u2019s attention span is a little bad.”<\/p>\n
After salary, what are your top issues?<\/p>\n
Top to bottom, left to right, front to back, salary and revenue sharing rank highest. But players say housing and retirement benefits also are worth fighting for.<\/p>\n
\u201cRetirement benefits. At some point the ball\u2019s gonna stop bouncing. So, similarly to other leagues that already exist, there\u2019s an understanding of, you put your time and your effort into doing this long term, and at some point it\u2019s gonna stop bouncing. So it\u2019d be nice to be helped out with that.”<\/p>\n
\u201cHousing. Our season isn\u2019t long enough. There\u2019s not enough things in place in everybody\u2019s market for it to make sense for people to live there year-round. Also, because of the lack of guaranteed contracts, we have a revolving door of players, like we saw with the Fever [in 2025]. I just don\u2019t understand how they feel like it would make sense to take away housing when people are just all over the place, moving.”<\/p>\n
\u201cHousing. Those people who are on the lower end of the salary, they\u2019re the ones who are most likely traded. So to me, it\u2019s unfair.”<\/p>\n
\u201cPension. A lot of people did stuff to put this league where it is. And so many people having to wait 10 years, or, like, have 10 years of service to get a pension is just insane. I could go on for days.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Players run up and down a basketball court in a converted concert hall preparing for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[86310,49,48,82,630,8811,35520,30324,191478],"class_list":{"0":"post-475284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-athletes-unlimited","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-wnba","13":"tag-wnba-cba","14":"tag-wnba-salary","15":"tag-wnba-season","16":"tag-wnba-benefits"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475284","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=475284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}