The WNBA and the players’ union are unlikely to reach a new collective bargaining agreement by Friday’s deadline.
Erin Drake, legal counsel for the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, said it’s “not going to happen.”
The two sides will continue to meet this week but are said to remain far apart on the central issue of revenue sharing.
“We have worked hard to be able to say on Friday, ‘We did it.’ Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen,” Drake told The Athletic on Tuesday. “In a dance, it takes two to tango. And it has been difficult to find a beat, to find a rhythm and to find the same sense of urgency (from the league), just to be frank, to get this done.”
The league did not immediately respond to The Athletic’s request for comment on Drake’s characterization of the negotiations.
The WNBPA has proposed a new salary framework in which player salaries are linked to a percentage of the revenue generated by the league. The WNBA wants a fixed salary cap with additional revenue sharing only if the league revenue exceeds certain targets.
“The players are so stalwart in their commitment to having a transformational CBA, and it’s our job to get it done,” Drake said.
“Labor peace is where we want to be, but we’re not going to get there by being taken advantage of. The players aren’t going to get there by hearing, ‘maybe next time, again,'” she added. “The time is now, and we’re willing to do what needs to be done to get there and move back into the zone where we can really put on an amazing product and have people feel that their value is being reflected in the way that they are paid and the money that they’re getting.”
A potential work stoppage could slow the momentum for the league, which has experienced attendance and ratings spikes over the past couple of seasons.
The WNBA added an expansion team in 2025, the Golden State Valkyries, with two more due to start play next year. The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire are set to become the league’s 14th and 15th teams.
–Field Level Media
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