{"id":195502,"date":"2025-10-01T20:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/195502\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T20:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:10:13","slug":"whats-next-for-wnba-commish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/195502\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Next for WNBA Commish?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Front<\/a><\/p>\n

Afternoon Edition<\/p>\n

October 1, 2025<\/p>\n

Tensions in the WNBA are boiling over as star players publicly call out the league\u2019s leadership, putting the upcoming collective bargaining agreement in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u2014Annie Costabile<\/a>, Eric Fisher<\/a>, and David Rumsey<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cathy<\/p>\n

Labor negotiations between the WNBA and its players\u2019 union are reaching a fever pitch.<\/p>\n

The current collective bargaining agreement expires Oct. 31, and the sides appear nowhere near a new deal. After Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier ripped into commissioner Cathy Engelbert<\/a> and the league office Tuesday, many of the biggest names in the league expressed their dissatisfaction with how negotiations were going.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real threat to our league isn\u2019t money; it isn\u2019t ratings or even missed calls and physical play,\u201d Collier said in a four-minute address. \u201cIt\u2019s the lack of accountability from the league office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Collier addressed several league issues in her statement and subsequent press conference, including the CBA. Players across the league took to social media in support. Others addressed the media ahead of and immediately after Game 5 of the semifinals between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe queen has spoken,\u201d two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne wrote on Instagram. \u201cIt\u2019s the care for the human part for me. I\u2019m still not sure Cathy knows I retired. Heard from everyone but her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was honestly disgusted by the comments that Cathy made,\u201d four-time MVP A\u2019ja Wilson said after the Aces\u2019 win over the Fever. \u201cAt the same time, I\u2019m very appreciative we have people like Phee in our committee of the players\u2019 association representing us because that\u2019s where we\u2019re going to have to continue to make the push to stand on what we believe in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While referencing issues with officiating, Collier noted that the league\u2019s CBA proposals have fallen short of player expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe league has a buzzword that they\u2019ve rolled out as talking points for the CBA as to why they can\u2019t pay the players what we\u2019re worth,\u201d she said. \u201cThat word is sustainability.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The two sides continue to meet regularly, with a planned meeting scheduled for Oct. 9, one league source told Front Office Sports.<\/p>\n

There still remains a gulf over the most basic economic issues: salaries and how league revenue is shared.<\/p>\n

Players in the first two years of rookie contracts earned less than $80,000 for the 2025 WNBA season. Collier named three of them\u2014Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers\u2014saying that she asked Engelbert what her plans were to remedy their low pay despite them being directly responsible for so much league revenue. According to Collier, Engelbert said Clark should be \u201cgrateful she makes $16 million off the court\u201d because without the WNBA platform she would make nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reese and Bueckers both shared their public support of Collier\u2019s statement, \u201c10\/10. No notes!\u201d <\/a>Reese posted on X. The Fever said Clark had no comment, according to ESPN.<\/a> In a written statement, Engelbert said, \u201cI am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership,\u201d but she did not deny making the comments Collier alleged.<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s supermax base salary in 2025 was $249,244. In August, ESPN reported that a league source suggested the max base salary could increase to at least $1 million<\/a>. (Under a new media-rights deal that kicks in next season, the WNBA\u2019s media revenue will at least triple, from $60 million annually to $200 million per year, and it could grow even further across the life of the deal.) According to sources familiar with negotiations, the most recent proposal from the league to players does not include the max base salary quadrupling in the first year.<\/p>\n

For more on the WNBA labor standoff, read Annie Costabile\u2019s full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bAn unusual confluence of expiring television distribution agreements, most of them involving YouTube TV, has left a disparate mix of results.<\/p>\n

As four major carriage deals ended Sept. 30, the contracts now stand in different places, reflecting the increasingly complex nature of the TV business. Among the major developing situations:<\/p>\n

YouTube TV\u2013NBCUniversal: Google-owned YouTube TV found itself right back in a large-scale carriage fight<\/a>, just weeks after settling a similar issue with Fox<\/a>. Late Tuesday, the sides agreed to a temporary extension that will keep NBC networks on the No. 4 pay-TV distributor while talks continue. That means upcoming sports programming, including a hefty college football slate Saturday and the NFL Sunday Night Football game Oct. 5 between the Patriots and Bills, will remain fully available.<\/p>\n

YouTube TV\u2013TelevisaUnivision: The streamer did not reach an accord with the Spanish-language programmer, and that network\u2019s channels have gone dark on the platform. YouTube TV is offering subscribers a $6 credit if the channels remain unavailable \u201cfor an extended period of time.\u201d The dispute arrives in the midst of National Hispanic Heritage Month, further inflaming the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

YouTube TV\u2013Monumental Sports Network: The sides also failed to reach an agreement, and the regional sports network also went dark on YouTube TV. The Ted Leonsis\u2013led RSN airs his NBA Wizards, NHL Capitals, and WNBA Mystics, and the blackout arrives just weeks before the start of the hockey and men\u2019s basketball seasons. MSN has also gone dark on Disney-controlled Hulu. \u201cUnfortunately, this isn\u2019t just about YouTube TV\u2019s and Hulu\u2019s disregard for D.C. sports fans,\u201d said MSN GM Friday Abernethy. \u201cTheir decisions to walk away reflect a troubling reality in the pay-TV industry: independent regional sports networks like Monumental are being squeezed out by large, multinational streaming companies using anticompetitive tactics.<\/p>\n

Comcast\u2013YES Network: Like the YouTube TV\u2013NBCUniversal situation, the sides reached a short-term agreement to keep the Yankees-controlled RSN on the air while talks continue. Neither Comcast nor the YES Network detailed how long the extension is for, but the network will continue to have full distribution while it continues pre- and post-game coverage of the Yankees, currently playing in MLB\u2019s wild-card playoffs on ESPN.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Comcast and the YES Network continue to have a broad ideological divide, particularly regarding the carrier\u2019s ongoing push to place RSNs on more expensive tiers. YES Network has fought that effort<\/a>, and the crosstown SportsNet New York, which is partially owned by Comcast and airs the Mets, has not yet been subject to the tiering\u2014directly influencing the current talks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Carriage battles such as these have grown much more common across the media business. Distributors and programmers alike are battling rising cord-cutting among consumers, a growing migration toward streaming<\/a>, and rising costs for sports rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe danger for legacy media is that YouTube and its parent company, Google, would be unaffected if YouTube TV collapsed and\/or disappeared,\u201d wrote LightShed Partners in a research note. \u201cBy contrast, NBCUniversal or Disney losing 15% of its video subscriber base \u2026 would be quite painful. That being said, it\u2019s not that simple for YouTube either. YouTube is trying to build YouTube TV to drive more and more people to watch YouTube content on television screens, which helps the core YouTube ad business and take share from linear TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The disappointing performance by the U.S. Ryder Cup team<\/a> also led to subpar TV ratings for the biennial team golf event.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s final round on NBC and Peacock averaged 3.22 million viewers, which is down 8% from 2021 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin (3.51 million viewers), the most recent edition played on U.S. soil. It now marks the lowest Sunday audience for a Ryder Cup playing Stateside this century (2025, 2021, 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2004).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Viewership on Sunday did peak at 5.3 million viewers just after 5 p.m. ET, as the unlikely American comeback attempt was gaining serious momentum at Bethpage Black Golf Course in New York, before Irishman Shane Lowry sank a putt for Europe, helping that team retain the Ryder Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Across the Pond<\/p>\n

U.S. Ryder Cup viewership varies greatly between years it\u2019s played at home and away. In 2023, NBC drew 1.32 million viewers<\/a> for the final round of the Ryder Cup from Rome, which played out in the morning for most Americans.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sky Sports said<\/a> it recorded 5 million viewers in the U.K. across the three days of this year\u2019s Ryder Cup, which is up 45% from the 2023 edition and set a new record for the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Early Mornings<\/p>\n

During the Ryder Cup, Peacock and digital platforms debuted a new alternative pregame show<\/a>, T-Mobile Breakfast at Bethpage, which broadcast live each morning of the competition from a set just off the first tee. Saturday Night Live personality Colin Jost hosted Breakfast at Bethpage, adding to his sports media portfolio that also includes work for NBC at the 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n

The program was created by the PGA of America and Peyton Manning\u2019s Omaha Productions, in partnership with Pro Shop Studios (led by the creators of Netflix\u2019s Full Swing PGA Tour docuseries). Viewership metrics for the pregame show have not been released.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball\u2019s Cardinals, traditionally one of the league\u2019s most successful franchises on and off the field, know they\u2019re in a tough spot and are vowing immediate corrections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While introducing the new president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. acknowledged the alarming attendance retreat at Busch Stadium and said \u201cmessage received.\u201d The team this year saw its attendance drop by 628,108, by far MLB\u2019s largest decrease, greater than those seen by the Rays<\/a> and A\u2019s<\/a> after moving into minor league stadiums, and counter to leaguewide growth<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cardinals\u2019 2025 attendance, which also included a record low for a single game at Busch Stadium, followed one of 362,976 last year that also led the league. The figures sharply reverse a trend in which the team was a top-five draw in MLB every year from 2013 to 2019 and in the top 10 in many other pre-pandemic seasons. Fueling the latest declines at the gates is a three-year run out of the postseason for St. Louis, a marked turnaround from when the team made the playoffs nine times between 2011 and 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand [the fans\u2019] frustration,\u201d DeWitt said. \u201cThey love their Cardinals. They love their Cardinals winning. We\u2019re going to make every effort to get back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key part of that effort is the promotion of Bloom, formerly in the same role with the Red Sox, and working with the Cardinals the last two years as an advisor. Bloom will succeed John Mozeliak, who is voluntarily departing after a 30-year run with the Cardinals that included two World Series titles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cardinals compete in a particularly tough National League Central division that includes the Brewers (the best team in baseball this year), the playoff-bound Cubs and Reds, and a Pirates team that, while still a losing one, has arguably the game\u2019s best pitcher in Paul Skenes.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a growing economic divide across MLB, one that will factor directly into labor negotiations next year between the league and the MLB Players Association. In the meantime, DeWitt and Bloom said they have not yet set a 2026 payroll for the Cardinals. The club\u2019s 2025 luxury-tax payroll of $156.6 million ranked 19th in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what our payroll is going to be,\u201d DeWitt said about 2026. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you right now, but we\u2019re going to provide the resources for [Bloom] to build what he\u2019s talking about building, and we can take it from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was relentless in her exit interview, ripping the WNBA for having \u201cthe worst leadership in the world.\u201d She also revealed damning comments WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said to her in an offseason conversation, including that Caitlin Clark should be \u201cgrateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn\u2019t make anything.\u201d As WNBA collective bargaining negotiations continue to push the Oct. 31 deadline, Engelbert\u2019s long-term future with the league is in serious doubt. FOS women\u2019s sports reporter Annie Costabile joins Baker Machado and Renee Washington to interpret and contextualize Collier\u2019s comments, and explain what it could mean for her Unrivaled league, Engelbert, and the WNBA as a whole.<\/p>\n

Plus, YouTube TV loses Univision and D.C.\u2019s Monumental Sports Network amid a carriage dispute, while reaching a temporary agreement with NBC to avoid a service disruption during a packed weekend of football. FOS newsletter writer Eric Fisher has the latest on this saga and its larger implications for regional sports networks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watch the full episode here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

NFL Network \u2b06 The Vikings-Steelers game in Dublin, which kicked off at 9:30 a.m. ET, averaged 7.9 million viewers, marking the network\u2019s second-most-watched international game on record. The 2023 Dolphins-Chiefs game in Frankfurt, Germany, drew 9.3 million viewers. NFL Network will air five more Sunday morning international games this season, from London, Berlin, and Madrid.<\/p>\n

Tubi \u2b06 The Fox-owned streaming service, which does not have an extensive presence in sports, will simulcast the network\u2019s coverage of an early afternoon Thanksgiving Day NFL game between the Packers and the Lions. The additional reach from the free service will likely be a boon for viewership on what is typically the most-viewed day of the league\u2019s regular season. Tubi contributed more than 10% to the record-setting viewership of Super Bowl LIX<\/a> in February, and Fox has since debuted the subscription-based Fox One<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Braves \u2b07 Manager Brian Snitker will not return to the post in 2026 after a 10-year run that included the 2021 World Series title. The decision arrived soon after Atlanta missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017 in an injury-riddled campaign. Snitker will remain with the Braves in an advisory role, but his departure from the dugout continues an escalating managerial carousel<\/a> around MLB.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bethpage Black \u2b06\u2b07 PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague said there is \u201cno thought\u201d of moving the 2033 PGA Championship<\/a> away from the golf course, despite the poor fan behavior<\/a> from the New York fans at the Ryder Cup. \u201cWe have a lot of infrastructure and we just need a lot of space,\u201d Sprague told Golf Channel<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s why Bethpage Black lends itself so well to a major championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Kuminga finally agreed to a new deal with the Warriors on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/a>The Pac-12 wants to avoid having to pay the Mountain West $55 million.<\/a>Athletes like Blake Bortles and Rob Gronkowski are diving into sports investing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Afternoon Edition October 1, 2025 Tensions in the WNBA are boiling over as star players publicly call out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-195502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}