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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Saturday she remains confident the league and players union can reach a “transformational” new collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, before the current deal expires at the end of October.
Engelbert described July 17's negotiations between the league and the WNBPA as “constructive,” despite player frustration with the pace of talks. More than 40 players attended the meeting, and several expressed disappointment afterward. Players wore warm-up shirts before Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game that read “Pay Us What You Owe Us,” highlighting the ongoing tension around compensation and revenue sharing.
“Communication is important, and having that meeting, being at the table, was important with that scale of players,” Engelbert said, as reported by Alexa Philippou of ESPn “I really respect the players listening. They’re listening to our owners, and we’re kind of in the middle as the league, trying to make sure we’re setting this league up for success for decades.”
Revenue sharing central issue to WNBA CBA
A central issue remains how revenue is shared. Engelbert said the league’s proposal includes multiple models for increased revenue sharing and emphasized the league’s growth since the current CBA was signed in 2020.
“We want the same things as the players want,” she said. “We want to significantly increase their salary and benefits while balancing … owners’ ability to have a path to profitability.”
Players, however, say the league’s proposal falls short.
“It’s two fundamentally different systems,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said. “We want to have a better share where our salaries grow with the business, and not just a fixed percentage over time.”
In addition to addressing the ongoing CBA talks, Engelbert also spoke on several other hot topics, including the league's work on expansion draft rules for incoming teams in Toronto and Portland, addressed officiating concerns and evaluating changes to the All-Star Game format. She noted that while the 2026 season will likely extend into November due to the FIBA World Cup, most seasons should still end by mid-October.
