The WNBA might not always have been the most popular league among basketball fans, but it’s more than catching up to the years of lagging behind. The league recently surpassed a 2002 record of 2,501,609 fans in just 226 games, and with 2.5 weeks still remaining on the clock. This has come despite the league’s biggest star, Caitlin Clark, being out of action for pretty much the whole season. That said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
The WNBPA has been locked in a battle with the management over strict salary restrictions for some time now. WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson has meanwhile said that the athletes had been working very hard to achieve a CBA that would transform the sport for women.
An agreement to their terms would also mean that the sport would become financially viable for women across the country, which in turn is likely to bring many more Caitlin Clarks to the fore.
The league has also claimed that they have been rather open with the players’ association about reaching an amicable solution. That said, this is taking longer than expected, which means for the first time in a long time, the 2026 season could turn into a lockout. In light of this, former LA Lakers star Robert Horry has asserted that the women have been putting people in seats and deserved everything they have been asking for.
“They are so talented, and I am just glad more people are watching,” Horry said. However, he also warned that a lockout, while it looks good on paper, could result in the WNBA taking a couple of steps back in terms of the progress it has made over the last few years.
“I hope they don’t go into a lockout because … don’t do that (squash the momentum) right now. You all are at the pinnacle of your game right now, and you know how fans are. They can be very fickle. It’s like, ‘we are supporting you, but now you want to do this,’ and next thing you know, you are back at the bottom, you have got to start all over,” Horry warned.
Critics have argued that the WNBA has had to deal with a lot of negative headlines over the last few weeks. After all, who can forget the s*x toy-fueled couple of weeks? That said, all the players are asking for is a split share of the revenue with the league.
NBA players reportedly rake in 50-51% of the money the league makes. In comparison, WNBA stars make a little more than just 9% of the revenue share! Now, something must be done, and one can hope that the cost at which it comes is worth the struggle.