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One of the newly unveiled logos for the Portland Fire at the team\u2019s launch party, Portland, Ore., July 15, 2025. <\/p>\n
Anna Lueck for OPB \/ OPB<\/p>\n
Officials with the WNBA say a new labor deal must be in place by Tuesday<\/a> to avoid disruptions to the season set to start in May<\/a> \u2013 and leaders with the Portland Fire have an added concern: The Fire need a labor deal in place before building a roster of players. <\/p>\n In the past, expansion teams have had five months or more to acquire players through an expansion draft, trades with other teams, and the rookie draft. The timeline for the Portland Fire and the other expansion team, the Toronto Tempo, will be extremely truncated, even if the sides agree on a deal immediately. <\/p>\n The two sides still remain far apart on how the WNBA should share its rapidly increasing revenue with the players. The union for the players has already authorized a strike if needed, though both sides say they hope to avoid one. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s more on how labor talks could affect the Portland Fire\u2019s first season. <\/p>\n First, what\u2019s going on with the labor negotiations?<\/p>\n No matter what, WNBA players are going to get paid a lot more than the current range of about $66,000 to $249,000 per year. <\/p>\n But there\u2019s tension over how the league will share its revenue, which has gone up significantly in recent years. Players want to see a model that\u2019s closer to what the NBA has, where a portion of total revenue is shared. In the NBA, about half of the league\u2019s total income is doled out to players in their salaries. <\/p>\n League officials have proposed a system that would take revenue minus expenses and dole out that amount to players when their salary checks are cut. <\/p>\n How does that affect the Portland Fire\u2019s ability to build a roster?<\/p>\n Without a contract in place, the league won\u2019t run an expansion draft. That\u2019s how new teams like the Fire pick players who are already in the league. An agreement also has to be reached before teams can start trading players with each other and before the rookie draft. <\/p>\n The WNBA just went through this process last year when the Golden State Valkyries joined the league as the first expansion team since 2008. <\/p>\n Erin Lim is a reporter for KALW in San Francisco. She hosts the podcast Bounce, which covered the first season of the Valkyries<\/a> from just before the time the team tipped off in May 2025. <\/p>\n \u201cThey were able to do a draft in December of 2024,\u201d Lim said. \u201cAnd we are way past that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Lim said by the time the rookie draft happened in April, fans of the Valkyries already knew who some of the team\u2019s core players could be. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Valkyries were set up with, it seemed like, a pretty set roster of different names,\u201d Lim said. \u201cPeople that have had all kinds of different backgrounds in who they played for, and if they had titles, if they didn\u2019t \u2013 who they were in the W at this point.\u201d <\/p>\n Players still can \u2013 and do \u2013 get cut or traded before the season starts, Lim said. But knowing who might make the team still gave fans another thing to be excited about. <\/p>\n Will the negotiation talks push back the start of the season?<\/p>\n Maybe. First, teams would cancel preseason games \u2013 which Lim said were important in building fan engagement when the Valkyries launched. <\/p>\n \u201cI went to the first preseason game, and it felt like it was a playoff game,\u201d Lim said. \u201cIt was sold out. You would have never known that that was the Valkyries\u2019 first time playing at Chase Center.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the potential loss of preseason games, the WNBA has not said what will happen if there is still no agreement past March 10. <\/p>\n What can the leaders of the Portland Fire do in the meantime?<\/p>\n Despite labor talks, the owners of the Portland Fire have been quite busy.<\/p>\n From left, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Lisa Bhathal Merage, Alex Bhathal and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler at the announcement of Portland receiving a WNBA team at the Moda Center on Sept. 18, 2024.<\/p>\n Joni Land \/ OPB<\/p>\n Siblings Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal own the team through their investment firm RAJ Sports. The pair also own the city\u2019s NWSL team, the Portland Thorns. RAJ Sports landed a partnership<\/a> with healthcare company Kaiser Permanente, and together they\u2019re building a major new practice facility in Hillsboro for the Thorns and Fire. <\/p>\n Leaders for the team have also built up their business and coaching staff, including bringing on a General Manager who previously worked for the Valkyries<\/a>. <\/p>\n How are fans in Oregon feeling?<\/p>\n Fans are ready for professional women\u2019s basketball to return to Portland. The first iteration of the Fire played in Oregon from 2000 through 2002, and at the time drew big crowds. For the reignited team, more than 15,000 season tickets have already been sold. <\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LWEB4JTBBJGKRHN7XFJPCZWCGY.JPG\")
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