Mark Cuban’s Shark Tank Suggestion for WNBA Salary Fix

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Marc Cuban entered the WNBA’s ongoing collective negotiations with a Shark Tank-style idea, propose an unconventional solution as discussions intensify between the league and its players’ union. The WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. Front Office Sports reported that the union submitted a counter-proposal Tuesday sought team-provided housing for players during the first years of the deal and a 25 percent share of total league revenue, averaging about 27.5 percent over the life of the deal. The union also lowered its proposed salary cap to less than $9.5 million, from about $10.5 million.

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The league reacted quickly. In a statement to Front Office Sports, a WNBA spokesperson called the proposal “unrealistic” and warned it would result in hundreds of millions in losses for teams. The league added that it must complete two drafts and free agency before training camp and suggested the union’s offer could delay the season.

Cuban highlighted the reality.

“The crazy thing,” Cuban wrote, “is that no matter what the WNBA does with salaries, every star college player will take a pay cut to play in the WNBA.” He said athletic directors told him that elite players in power conferences earn between $500,000 and $1.2 million, while also enjoying housing, board and transfer flexibility.

Cuban offers a WNBA “NIL” model

Cuban argued that college basketball operates under a subsidized model, supported by donors and shared school revenues, which he compared to European club systems. In the NBA, teams cannot negotiate direct sponsor payments for players. In college sports, NIL agreements actually allow this.

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“When I wrote checks to IU,” Cuban explained, “I knew which players were trying to get with the money, although I never tie the money to specific players. It’s up to them.”

His suggestion is to allow WNBA teams to create sponsorship packages that include direct payments to players. “Let WNBA teams pay their players ‘NIL’ money,” he wrote. Cuban acknowledged that WNBA teams don’t have the margins on tickets, sponsorships and television revenue to significantly increase salaries through cash flow alone. With the league’s support, teams could structure sponsor-funded deals that supplement their revenue without straining their finances.

Larger markets could get stronger sponsorships, which is why Cuba proposed directing a percentage of these NIL-style deals to a shared pool, similar to how jersey advertising revenue is distributed.

“Obviously I’m just spitting this out,” Cuban added, “but if they came on Shark Tank, this is what I would suggest!”

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