NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and the league’s players’ union met in person Wednesday to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement.
“Today’s meeting included preliminary conversations and constructive dialogue, with mutual agreement to continue discussions towards a new transformational CBA,” the two sides said in a joint statement.
The WNBA players’ union has withdrawn the current collective agreementtwo years before it expires in October. The current CBA will still cover the 2025 season, so both sides have one year to negotiate a new deal.
This early deregistration marks a crucial turning point for the league. The WNBA signed a historic agreement 11-year media rights deal worth $200 million per year.
The league saw record attendance and viewership this year, which peaked when the New York Liberty beat Minnesota Lynx in overtime on October 20 to win the WNBA Finals in a deciding Game 5.
At Wednesday’s meeting were WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike, as well as Kelsey Plum, Elizabeth Williams, Napheesa Collier, Satou Sabally, DiJonai Carrington and Stefanie Dolson. WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson and other union staff and advisors were also in attendance.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was joined by members of the WNBA Labor Relations Committee as well as additional league staff and advisors.
The league has skyrocketed, with 2024 marking a huge breakthrough after years of significant and sustained growth. ESPN saw huge viewership increases, with viewership during the regular season increasing 170 percent, according to the union.
Engelbert told him state of the league speech Heading into the first game of the finals, with the new media rights deal in place and many more commercial partners, the league force is in a great position. She also added that players got a lot more marketing deals, making them household names.
The union said it hoped for a new economic model that would transform the current system, which imposes arbitrary and restrictive caps on players’ value and benefits. Players want an equity-based model that grows and evolves with the league’s increasing commercial success.
Other areas the union would like to see improved include wages, retirement benefits, better child care and family planning services.
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