The WNBA players’ union has rejected the league’s latest collective bargaining agreement proposal, arguing it fails to adequately tie salary growth to revenue increases. With the current deal expiring in 10 days, the impasse raises the risk of labor disruption ahead of the 2026 season.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the WNBA’s new CBA offer, which was confirmed by sources to ESPN and Yahoo Sports. The union does not see the proposal as moving negotiations forward, despite it including potential maximum salaries over $1.1 million. This response comes as the WNBA experiences unprecedented growth in viewership and revenue, yet players feel their compensation isn’t keeping pace. The stalemate highlights the gap between the league’s offer and the players’ demands for a more equitable system.
Under the proposed CBA, player salaries would see significant increases: the maximum could exceed $1.1 million, the average would be over $460,000, and the minimum would rise to more than $220,000. However, these figures are misleading, as the $1.1 million is not a base salary but a combination of a max contract around $800,000 to $850,000 and additional revenue sharing. In 2025, the supermax was $249,244 and the minimum was $66,079, making the proposed jumps substantial on paper. Yet, no player would receive a base salary of $1.1 million in 2026, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.
The core issue for the players is the lack of a direct link between salary caps and basketball-related income (BRI), a model used in the NBA where the cap is a fixed percentage of revenue. The WNBPA has insisted on a system where player salaries grow automatically with the league’s financial success, ensuring they share in the prosperity. The current proposal relies on fixed cap increases and limited revenue sharing, which the union believes “intentionally undervalues the players,” as stated in their response. This disconnect is a longstanding point of contention since players opted out of the current CBA in October 2024.
The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on November 30, 2025, though a 30-day extension is in place, terminable with 48 hours’ notice. Negotiations have continued in recent weeks, with a meeting held as recently as Wednesday. The league has emphasized that its proposal includes “significant guaranteed salary cap increases and substantial uncapped revenue sharing,” but the union remains unconvinced. In the current CBA, the salary cap increased by a fixed 3% annually, and a revenue sharing provision has never been triggered, fueling player skepticism.
Comparing to the NBA, where the salary cap is 44.74% of BRI, the WNBA players want a similar structure to ensure fairness. With the WNBA’s television revenue alone set to hit $200 million annually, players argue that a fixed system doesn’t capture the business’s growth potential. The proposed revenue sharing in the WNBA’s offer is limited and doesn’t guarantee that salaries will scale with revenues, which is a key demand. This model has worked well in the NBA, providing stability and shared success between players and the league.
The implications of this disagreement are significant. If no agreement is reached, it could lead to a lockout or strike, disrupting the 2026 WNBA season and affecting teams, fans, and the sport’s momentum. Both sides have until the end of the month to find common ground or risk escalating the conflict. The outcome will influence player morale, league competitiveness, and the WNBA’s position in the expanding landscape of women’s sports. As negotiations continue, the focus is on whether the league will adjust its offer to meet player demands for a revenue-linked system.
