The tension between players and WNBA management remains at an all-time high, with the former looking for the latter to institute changes that would benefit them, particularly from a monetary perspective. WNBA players still get a relative pittance when it comes to the total revenue the league has been generating, and this, in turn, has led to the WNBA Players Association opting out of the CBA back in October 2024.
However, the negotiations for a new CBA between the players union and the league office remain at an impasse. Recent reporting has stated that players are split on whether to demand even more from the league in negotiations or whether the terms that were presented are already acceptable.
But as per Los Angeles Sparks star Kelsey Plum and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, they feel as though their input hasn't been taken into account much by the WNBPA, and they made this known by sending a three-page letter to union director Terri Jackson (via Alexa Philippou and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN).
“We do not feel like we have an adequate seat at the table in these negotiations,” the letter reads. “We are frustrated that we have not made more progress as we near the March 10 deadline and we believe this is a result of a breakdown in communication between you and the Executive Committee and players more broadly.”
A deal between the players union and the WNBA has to get done soon
The deadline to get a new CBA done is on the 10th of March, so time is of the essence for the players union to get a deal over the line.
Plum and Stewart believe that the current terms the WNBA has proposed are acceptable, and that losing a season would be the worst possible outcome.
“A strike would be the worst thing for both sides,” Plum said in recent days.
The current proposed CBA terms include the league handing out revenue sharing payments and the players union receiving $9.25 million to distribute amongst players which they generated from jersey sales, trading cards, video games and other merchandise,
