There is an uprising brewing in the WNBA, with many backing Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier for her comprehensively thorough dismantling of commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the way she's running the association. This appears to be the culmination of all of the women's frustrations over the years, beginning, but not limited to, with their continued fight for a higher salary floor brought forth by getting a bigger chunk of the overall revenue the WNBA is bringing in. On Sunday, it was Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's turn to say her piece.
WNBA players are getting a pittance relative to the league's overall revenue, and this has been a cause of longstanding strife. And the Fever sharpshooter couldn't hide her disgust over the fact that, according to the New York Times, WNBA players are bringing in about seven percent of the league's overall basketball-related income (BRI) — a total farce.
“I think all of us are in our agreement that our salaries should be tied to the business that we bring in. And it is not at all. It is the most disrespectful percentage that any league has ever seen,” Cunningham said on the Show Me Something podcast.
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In a deep dive from the New York Times, it showed that, had the WNBA players been earning as big of a percentage of the BRI as NBA players did, they could earn a maximum salary of up to $4 million, which is nearly 16 times more than the current supermax salary in the WNBA (at around $250,000 per year).
The WNBA is bringing in record-levels of revenue, and it's only fair if the players, including Cunningham, the rest of the Fever roster and the WNBA, get what they want.
WNBA in a state of chaos as Fever's Sophie Cunningham says her piece
The WNBA will never be the same again, as every player, including the Fever guard, appears to be just about done with the commissioner, who hasn't exactly covered herself in glory with her response to Collier's remarks. The WNBA's current collective bargaining agreement is about to expire, and the players are in a state of collective protest.
Considering how business is booming for the WNBA, it makes sense for the players driving that increased revenue to get a better percentage of the total BRI. Once that happens, maybe WNBA players don't have to ply their trade overseas anymore or start their own league just so they could maximize their income.
