The WNBA Players Association has submitted a counterproposal to the league on Tuesday amid prolonged collective bargaining agreement negotiations and the league already voiced its dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n
According to ESPN\u2019s Alexa Philippou<\/a>, the WNBPA\u2019s latest proposal included some concessions on revenue sharing and housing\u2014two key elements of the ongoing labor dispute. Philippou reported the WNBPA is now asking for an average of 27.5% of gross revenue, citing sources. That\u2019s down from a reported proposal of 30%<\/a> of gross revenue.<\/p>\n Another key issue is housing as WNBA players have traditionally been provided with either team-owned apartments or a monthly stipend to use in season. In the WNBPA\u2019s latest proposal, ESPN reports <\/a>the players have asked teams to continue to provide housing to players in the first several years of a new agreement. But in later years, teams would no longer be obligated to provide housing for players making close to the maximum salary.<\/p>\n With increasing player salaries, the league has reportedly sought to change the housing provisions in a new CBA.<\/p>\n On Feb. 7, the WNBA submitted a new CBA proposal that included players receiving 70% of net revenue (which comes after expenses are deducted) and a $5.65 million salary cap, according to ESPN.<\/a> The players are asking for 25% of gross revenue in the first year of a new deal with a salary cap of less than $9.5 million. Last season, a supermax salary was just under $250,000 and a maximum salary could reach over $1 million with the latest proposal from the WNBA.<\/p>\n The league quickly released a response to the players\u2019 latest offering and it appears the WNBA didn\u2019t take kindly to the latest proposal from the players.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Players Association\u2019s latest proposal remains unrealistic and would cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses to our teams,\u201d a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement<\/a> to ESPN and Philippou. \u201cWe still need to complete two drafts and free agency before the start of training camp and are running out of time. We believe the WNBA\u2019s proposal would result in a huge win for current players and generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n How close are the WNBA and WNBPA\u2019s CBA negotiations cutting it to the start of the 2026 season?<\/p>\n The WNBA\u2019s draft lottery already took place, with the Wings winning the top pick in the 2026 draft which is slated for April 13. That puts us less than two months from the league\u2019s draft, with the season scheduled to begin weeks later on May 8.<\/p>\n Two expansion teams, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, are set to join the WNBA this year and an expansion draft has yet to be officially scheduled amid CBA discussions. The WNBA has traditionally opened its free agency periods in January, but signings have been halted this year due to the labor dispute. Almost every veteran player is set to hit free agency with most contracts expiring after last season as players aimed to sign more valuable contracts under the new CBA.<\/p>\n