The WNBA and its players\u2019 union announced they had reached a preliminary agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) March 20 after months of deliberations between the two organizations and looming threats of a strike or lockout, which could have delayed the start of the 2026 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The CBA, last renegotiated in 2020, is an agreement between the league and the Women\u2019s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) that enforces the terms of employment, including pay, benefits and revenue sharing. The new CBA raises salary caps, increases minimum and maximum player salaries \u2014 which will automatically adjust each year \u2014 and requires teams to roster 12 players, up from 11, along with two developmental spots.<\/p>\n
The proposed CBA sets a clear, progressive path forward for the league. However, the agreement\u2019s increased benefits fall well short of the contractual guarantees offered to NBA players. There is still a long way to go before we achieve true gender parity in professional sports.<\/p>\n
The current CBA was set to run through 2027, but the WNBPA opted out early after frustrations from players arose<\/a> over salaries, retirement benefits and travel accommodations, among other complaints.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new deal\u2019s text includes many structural improvements, though fewer material ones. It seems clear WNBPA leaders were thinking toward the future, sacrificing some short-term gains for the ability to point back in six years and demand expansions on items already in place rather than having to implement new frameworks.<\/p>\n Take revenue sharing, for example. In 2024, under the current CBA, all WNBA players combined received roughly 9% of the league\u2019s net revenue \u2014 after a complicated calculation where the WNBA needed to hit a certain revenue target for the players to get any share of the revenue at all. By contrast, the proposed CBA guarantees players 20% of gross revenue, increasing the size of both the slice and the pie WNBA players draw from. Net revenue, the pie the players previously drew from, was the league\u2019s revenue after expenses such as travel and arena rentals.<\/p>\n