{"id":510813,"date":"2026-03-03T04:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T04:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/510813\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T04:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T04:03:12","slug":"some-wnba-players-back-away-from-talk-of-strike-as-clock-ticks-on-cba-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/510813\/","title":{"rendered":"Some WNBA players back away from talk of strike as clock ticks on CBA deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Basketball player Breanna Stewart reacting during a game, Image 2 shows Kelsey Plum of the Phantom dribbles a basketball against the Mist<\/p>\n

Multiple WNBA players Monday struck down the idea of striking, with one high-ranking union executive going as far as saying a \u201cstrike would be the worst thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While negotiations for a new WNBA collective bargaining agreement have intensified in recent weeks, Kelsey Plum, the first vice president of the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association, said the WNBA and players remain at odds over several labor-related issues.<\/p>\n

Negotiations remain ongoing, but Plum highlighted that the league\u2019s agreement to create a revenue-sharing model involving players is a positive development.<\/p>\n

\"Kelsey<\/p>\n

Kelsey Plum #10 of the Phantom dribbles the ball against the Mist during an Unrivaled 2026 game. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Still, the two sides haven\u2019t agreed on what that system would look like and that standoff is holding up a deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fought really hard for [revenue sharing], and that\u2019s also the hardest part about this, is we\u2019re in a rev share and we\u2019re on a time constraint,\u201d Plum said Monday after shootaround ahead of Unrivaled\u2019s semifinal games at Barclays Center. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a sense of urgency obviously to get this deal done and just to be clear: I want to play. I want to play and players want to play and so obviously we\u2019re going to continue to negotiate and do everything we possibly can to get those done in a timely fashion but obviously a strike would be the worst thing for both sides because we are in a revenue share, so no revenue, no revenue to share.\u201d<\/p>\n

The potential for a strike has been looming ever since players opted out of the previous CBA in October 2024, with WNBPA officials advising players to save money in case of a work stoppage.<\/p>\n

In December, players voted in favor of allowing the WNBPA executive committee to call a strike \u201cwhen necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as negotiations have ramped up in recent weeks, the tone regarding a potential work stoppage has shifted.<\/p>\n

\"Breanna<\/p>\n

Breanna Stewart #30 of the Mist reacts during a game against the Rose. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think a strike is good for anyone,\u201d Liberty star and WNBPA co-vice president Breanna Stewart said in agreement with Plum. \u201cBecause as the league loses money, or if we have a delay, we also lose money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WNBA officially replied to the union\u2019s latest proposal Sunday night<\/a>. The biggest changes include a slight increase to the league\u2019s proposed 2026 salary cap and an accelerated path for star players on rookie contracts to earn maximum paydays.<\/p>\n

Players on rookie deals who earn All-WNBA first- or second-team honors would become eligible to sign a max contract extension in their fourth year, sources confirmed. Those players, though, wouldn\u2019t be eligible for the core designation, which is essentially the WNBA\u2019s equivalent to the NFL franchise tag.<\/p>\n

For example, Caitlin Clark, who made All-WNBA her rookie season, would be eligible for a maximum contract in 2027. Paige Bueckers, who earned All-WNBA honors last season, would be eligible in 2028.<\/p>\n

Also, players on rookie deals who earn league MVP honors could be eligible for the supermax extension, with no core designation, sources said.<\/p>\n

The WNBA continues to stand firm on its offer of players receiving a 70 percent share of net revenue, or team and league revenue after expenses.<\/p>\n

The WNBPA most recently demanded 26 percent of gross revenue, or revenue before expenses, which is a far cry from the 40 percent share request the union started at.<\/p>\n

Plum said getting the players union and league on the same page for a revenue-sharing model has been \u201ca pain point.\u201d She said the league\u2019s 70 percent net revenue offer is a \u201csignificant win\u201d when compared to previous CBAs, but she also believes there\u2019s more room for improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to note that we still need to continue to negotiate and you can continue to negotiate without striking,\u201d Plum said.<\/p>\n

The players and league also remain far apart on the salary cap. The league\u2019s latest proposal offered a salary cap of $5.75 million in 2026 that, based on conservative league projections, would grow to roughly $8.5 million by the sixth year of the CBA.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, players have asked for the salary cap to start at $9.45 million in Year 1 of the new deal.<\/p>\n

Stewart doesn\u2019t believe the league\u2019s latest proposal is worth the union taking a vote on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely negotiations that need to be done,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cAnd I think that whether you look at the union\u2019s deal or the league, still, it\u2019s like both of them are not ready. Both are not ready to be voted on because both need to be negotiated.\u201d<\/p>\n

But time is ticking.<\/p>\n

League officials told players last week that March 10 is the target date to agree to terms on a new deal. If that doesn\u2019t happen, the 2026 season, scheduled to open May 8, could be delayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere things are is everyone is kind of moving with a sense of urgency now \u2014 something we wish was happening basically from the beginning,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cWe feel that deadline approaching and wanting to kind of get a deal in place but there\u2019s still a lot that we\u2019re not agreeing [on].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Basketball player Breanna Stewart reacting during a game, Image…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[40918,4657,49,735,48,631,93014,4658,92501,535,82,630,11043],"class_list":["post-510813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-barclays-center","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-ca","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-canada","tag-kelsey-plum","tag-national-basketball-players-association","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-revenue-share","tag-revenue-sharing","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-players"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510813","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=510813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}