WNBA and WNBPA Remain Divided on Revenue as CBA Deadline Looms

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The Professional Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) are facing a crucial and highly contentious deadline as negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) enter their final days. The current CBA, which the players opted out of last year, was originally set to expire on October 31st but was extended to November 30th.

With that final deadline approaching rapidly, the two sides remain far apart on the central issue of revenue sharing, leading to rising tensions and the looming possibility of a work stoppage that would severely disrupt the league’s offseason, including the critical expansion draft and free agency period.

The Core Disagreement: Revenue Sharing

The primary wedge issue preventing a deal is the structure of player compensation and how it relates to the league’s booming business.

The Players’ Stance (WNBPA): The players are fighting for a system where player salaries are directly tied to the league’s increasing revenue, demanding a higher percentage of Basketball Related Income (BRI)—a model similar to the NBA’s. The WNBPA argues that the league’s proposals “retread a system that isn’t tied to any part of the business and intentionally undervalues the players,” given the WNBA’s record attendance, rising revenue, and the pending, highly lucrative media rights deal.
The League’s Stance (WNBA): The WNBA’s proposal aims to ensure long-term sustainability and incentivize investment from owners, preferring a fixed salary cap that increases by a set rate each year. The league has stated its desire for a “transformational deal” but has resisted a proportional revenue-sharing model like the players demand, favoring fixed salaries with additional revenue sharing only if the league hits specific, high financial targets.

The Current WNBA Proposal

While the sides are divided on the model of compensation, the WNBA’s most recent reported proposal includes staggering absolute increases in salary figures:

Category	2025 Current CBA	WNBA Reported Proposal (2026)
Maximum Salary	Approximately $214,466	Over $1.1 Million
Minimum Salary	Approximately $66,079	Over $220,000
Average Salary	Approximately $102,249	Over $460,000

However, reports indicate that the WNBPA views this proposal as insufficient because it fails to adequately tie those increases to the business’s massive growth potential, making it a “headline number” that misses the key structural demand.

Other Key Player Demands

Beyond salaries, the players are pushing for concrete improvements in fundamental working conditions:

Charter Flights: Codifying charter flights into the CBA, a service the league began offering in the 2024 season.
Professional Standards: Requiring minimum standards for game and practice facilities across all teams, ending the use of inadequate facilities.
Benefits: Better family planning, pregnancy benefits, and retirement plans.

What Happens Next?

With the November 30th deadline mere days away, the possibility of a work stoppage looms, though the WNBA and WNBPA can agree to another extension, as they did in 2019.

A lapse in the CBA would trigger a cascade of issues: it would delay the planned expansion draft for new teams in Portland and Toronto, cripple the start of free agency, and open the door for a player strike or an owner-imposed lockout. Both sides can terminate the current extension with just 48 hours’ notice, maintaining leverage until the final resolution is reached.

The negotiations represent the most consequential labor talks in women’s sports history, with the outcome set to define the financial trajectory of the WNBA for the next decade.