On Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, the WNBPA voted to strike \u201cwhen necessary.\u201d A whopping 93 percent of eligible players participated in the vote, and 98 percent voted in favor of strike authorization. The vote does not guarantee a strike; instead, it signals widespread trust and support of the seven WNBPA executive committee members who can initiate a strike at any point before the Friday, January 9, deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If realized, the strike would be a first in WNBA history, and the result would determine more than just player pay: it would define the primary beneficiaries of the league\u2019s growth and set a precedent for women’s professional leagues attempting to establish equitable labor relationships during periods of investment and expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Striking also carries inherent risk: a strike would stall the expansion draft, suspend the season\u2019s start, interfere with media deals, and above all risk stunting the momentum in league attendance and viewership once play resumes. According to The Athletic<\/a>, the 1994-95 MLB strike and ensuing negotiations left such a sour taste in fans\u2019 mouths that attendance the following season dropped 20 percent. If the WNBA were to suffer the same fate, regular season attendance would plummet from this year\u2019s record high of 3 million to around 1.4 million, roughly the same number as the attendance record from 2002<\/a>.<\/p>\n To strike or not to strike: Key considerations for the WNBPA<\/p>\n As the WNBPA executive committee members consider the stakes, they must consider the factors that will help, or harm, their bargaining power. Below is a list of five key factors that will influence player leverage should they choose to strike. Each factor represents a potential \u201cwin\u201d, \u201closs\u201d or \u201ccoin toss\u201d for player bargaining power.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ownership: Loss<\/p>\n WNBA ownership is split between three primary parties: the NBA (42 percent), WNBA owners (42 percent), and a group of independent investors (16 percent). Though truly independent owners could try to settle to curb losses, they are largely outnumbered by those who have a stake in the NBA<\/a>. Six of the fourteen franchise owners and three of the independent investors also own NBA teams, meaning they can afford to ride out a work stoppage due to NBA backing<\/a>. The NBA itself has been subsidizing the WNBA<\/a> for years and has the financial bandwidth to outlast a player-led stoppage in order to maximize profit down the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n Offseason leagues: Win<\/p>\n Historically, WNBA players would supplement their deficient WNBA incomes by playing abroad in Europe or Asia. Recently, three new leagues \u2014 Unrivaled<\/a>, Athletes Unlimited, and Project B<\/a> \u2014 present additional options, all offering salaries that equal or surpass that of the WNBA. If the majority of players partake in the aforementioned offseason leagues, they can wholly subsist without pay from the WNBA, forcing ownership to cave to their demands or see a permanent talent exodus.<\/p>\n Public narrative: Win <\/p>\n Players have not minced words when describing their qualms with the league. At an October press conference<\/a>, WNBPA Vice President Napheesa Collier skewered commissioner Kathy Englebert\u2019s leadership as the \u201cworst in the world.\u201d Since then, multiple players have spoken to news outlets or taken to social media to express frustration with the league\u2019s continued resistance to equitable pay and fair treatment; however, the league has stated that player sentiment does not accurately characterize their bargaining approach. If the league wants to retain credibility as the top women\u2019s basketball organization in the world, its leaders may find themselves yielding to player demands sooner than they intended to maintain their reputation. <\/p>\n Star power and visibility: Coin toss<\/p>\n Though the league\u2019s popularity has been swelling for years, Caitlin Clark\u2019s outsized role is undeniable. If Clark chooses to speak up on behalf of the WNBPA, the player cause will likely garner increased fan engagement, support, and consequently, leverage. Though Clark may carry substantial influence, countless other players \u2014 Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Aj\u2019a Wilson \u2014 have also amassed large followings on social media and to have the ability to expose fans to their plight. After livestreaming for a total of 72 hours over WNBA All-Star weekend, the duo known as Stud Budz<\/a>, Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, gained a loyal, often pink-haired fanbase ready to rally behind the player cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n Union cohesion and solidarity: Coin toss<\/p>\n With 93 percent voting, 98 percent in favor, the vote for strike authorization signals historic solidarity among players across various age groups and experience levels. Leverage will hinge heavily on the players\u2019 ability to maintain this solidarity as the strike protracts. The biggest threat is likely differences in stability among players, with younger players taking on larger financial risks without a cushion to fall back on compared to veteran players. On the other hand, star rookies like Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese, among others, have secured brand deals which comprise the majority of their income, while other newcomers yet to see the spotlight have opportunities to gain income from offseason leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where things stand right now<\/p>\n When asked about negotiations on Good Morning America<\/a> earlier this week, Napheesa Collier stated that though no one wants a stoppage, WNBA and WNBPA are at a \u201cbit of a standstill.\u201d In a recent proposal, the league offered to give players 70 percent of net revenue (revenue after costs are covered) after claiming that the player proposal for 30 percent of gross revenue (revenue before costs are covered) would lead to a loss of $700 million across the span of the agreement, risking serious damage to the league\u2019s hard-fought financial well-being. Players dispute this claim<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n More WNBA news and analysis: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, the WNBPA voted to strike \u201cwhen necessary.\u201d A whopping 93 percent of eligible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-393823","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393823","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=393823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}