THE WNBA and the WNBPA continue to argue over revenue sharing as both sides negotiate a new collective agreement, SBJ reported on Thursday, December 4.
The Athletic reported On December 3, the WNBA’s latest offer calls for players to receive 15% of league and team revenues. SBJ reported that the players association countered with 30 percent. This gap demonstrates that the two parties are still far from reaching a compromise.
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WNBA players received 9.3% of revenue from the old CBA and opted out of that deal last October. An increase of just over 5% in the revenue share is not what the union hoped for or would accept, the SBJ reported.
The WNBA declined to comment Thursday, but sources familiar with its thinking said comparing the 50-50 revenue split in men’s leagues, like the NBA, is not a good comparison. The NBA and WNBA have similar infrastructures of arenas, coaches, trainers and other support staff with very different revenues. The NBA’s projected revenue for the 2025-2026 season is $14.3 billion, according to Sportico. The New York Times reported WNBA revenue for 2025 at $300 million.
The latest proposal from the WNBA, reported earlier this week, would also increase the salary cap to $5 million per season per team, with the cap increase over the CBA’s term tied to revenue growth. The minimum salary for players would be $225,000, the average salary would be $500,000, and the maximum would be $1 million. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, the salary cap is $1.5 million per season per team. The minimum salary for a player is around $66,000, with the maximum salary being just north of $249,000.
The same source familiar with the WNBA’s thinking said the players put two items at the top of their list during negotiations: a salary increase and revenue sharing tied to growth. The WNBA believes it has made significant concessions in both areas.
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Both parties agreed to keep the current collective bargaining agreement intact while they finalize the new agreement. They extended the deadline until January 9.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: WNBA and WNBPA squabble over revenue sharing in latest CBA negotiations
