With simply three days remaining, the WNBA and Girls’s Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation (WNBPA) have till Jan. 9 to succeed in a collective bargaining settlement. With an extension already in place, a number of outcomes are potential. Lunar Owls and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier expressed her opinions and beliefs on the matter Monday evening.
Vice President of the WNBPA, Collier, hasn’t shied away when discussing the upcoming CBA. Notably calling out WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in September, Collier and the gamers are visibly pissed off. In August, Collier said the CBA talks lacked „urgency,“ and the 2 sides weren’t shut. Skip forward to January, each side stay at odds.
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It is so simple as it sounds: The gamers are in search of an elevated income share—basically an even bigger piece of the pie. With out the gamers, there is not a league, and in accordance with ESPN, the events stay divided with regards to income share. On the heart of dispute, that is one level the gamers are standing agency on. Matters comparable to elevated salaries, apply amenities, working situations, advantages, and maternity depart stay on the forefront.
In response to ESPN’s Alex Philipou, the WNBPA’s newest November proposal included a $12.5 million wage cap in 2026, a most wage of $2.5 million, and a median wage of $1 million. Rejected by the WNBA, the WNBPA’s proposal would additionally embody 30% of gross income.
WNBA and WNBPA at Odds Over Income Share, Participant Salaries
There stays an deadlock, with the league projecting losses of as much as $700 million. It is clear the league is balancing present CBA negotiations with long-term monetary sustainability in thoughts. Such a loss might compromise the league’s future. The WNBA has since countered with a max wage of $1 million and a median wage of $500,000. So far as income, the WNBA’s proposal contains larger than 50% of internet income.
There is a key distinction between income sorts, which is a present scorching matter in sports activities. To grasp this matter higher, it is best to elucidate the core distinction between the 2 sorts of income: Gross income is earlier than income bills, and internet income is income minus bills. Such bills might embody working prices, participant salaries, and extra. Collier weighed in on the current negotiations on Monday.
„Our deadline is arising in a few days,“ stated Collier on the Unequalled broadcast. „I believe you simply heard loads of chatter about what we’re asking for just isn’t sustainable for the enterprise. Being on this aspect with Unequalled, I do know what it takes to run a sustainable enterprise. I believe if they can not discover a mannequin that makes it occur, they should put folks in place who can, as a result of we have confirmed it’s potential, there’s a means, and we’re thriving in that.“
Set to bear surgical procedure on each of her ankles, Collier will stay sidelined for the following 4-6 months. With the information, she is going to miss the whole lot of the 2026 Unequalled season. Nevertheless, that is not stopping her from main within the entrepreneurial house. Co-founder of Unequalled—alongside Breanna Stewart—the league has exceeded expectations. Together with state-of-the-art amenities, cooks, coaching rooms, arenas, and apply courts, Unequalled is setting the usual for what an expert girls’s sports activities league ought to embody.
Unequalled Commissioner Micky Lawler detailed a number of upgrades the League has made within the offseason. The valuation elevated to $340 million, and the league has high-profile sponsorship offers with Sephora, Samsung, Beneath Armour, State Farm, Cheez-it, and extra. Securing a multi-year media partnership with TNT has supplied the league with ample income to pay its gamers‘ salaries above $200,000.
Napheesa Collier with one other robust WNBA CBA assertion on the Unequalled broadcast
“Being on this aspect with Unequalled, I do know what it takes to run a sustainable enterprise. So I believe if they will’t discover a mannequin that makes that occur they should put folks in place who can.” pic.twitter.com/gl0tFcGWQk
— No Cap Area WBB (@NoCapSpaceWBB) January 6, 2026
Why Income Share Issues within the WNBA
Income sharing is just a small matter of negotiations, however a vital one. Beneath the 2020 CBA, the WNBA operates on a set mannequin, which offers gamers with annual development of three%. Whereas NBA and WNBA salaries differ extensively, gamers aren’t anticipating the large $300,000—$400,000 paydays awarded within the NBA. These athletes are merely asking for an equal share of the pie. Their NBA counterparts obtain 49-50% of the NBA’s basketball-related earnings, whereas WNBA athletes obtain simply 9.3%.
The gamers, as an alternative, are searching for a special construction and a better income share share. It is no secret that the WNBA has seen record-breaking income from merchandise, sponsorships, and ticket gross sales, amongst different sources. As well as, the WNBA lately signed an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal to broadcast video games on Versant beginning in 2026.
Whereas the 2 sides stay divided, the following CBA is figured to be essentially the most transformative in league historical past. With a number of matters at stake, it is a vital negotiation not just for the present gamers however for the way forward for girls’s sports activities. Whereas the PA opted out of the present CBA, the typical participant wage for 2025 was simply north of $66,000. The mix of a super-max wage of $249,244 and a low income share share is inadequate for the gamers.
The gamers are the product.
Napheesa Collier „Believes“ A Deal Will Get Finished
With a number of days remaining, the clock continues to tick. Whereas a deal could possibly be imminent, there’s additionally a threat of a piece stoppage if no extension is in sight. Gamers voted to authorize a strike, and a lockout is feasible. As Caitlin Clark instructed the media throughout USA coaching camp, „That is the most important second the WNBA has ever seen. That is not one thing that may be tousled, and we will struggle for every thing that we deserve. On the identical time, we have to play basketball.“
There’s reality to Clark’s phrases; the WNBA is at its peak, experiencing file numbers throughout the board. With development off the charts, the league is ready to broaden to 18 groups by 2030. Not solely was the WNBA 2025 season the most-watched on ESPN networks ever, however nationwide viewership (per Engelbert) additionally elevated by 23% as of July 2025. Merchandise gross sales climbed to 40% by All-Star weekend, together with attendance, which elevated to 26% (the best in many years). Whereas Clark has moved the needle in historic methods, the WNBA will proceed to capitalize on NCAA recognition.
Collier shared her ideas with Lisa Leslie on whether or not a deal might be reached and on what the gamers are unwilling to sacrifice.
„I do suppose a deal’s gonna get carried out,“ stated Collier. „We’re standing agency in what we imagine in. We’re not going to again down, and we will not take much less. The game has simply grown an excessive amount of, it might be a disservice to the individuals who got here earlier than us, to the work that we put in, to take lower than what we’re owed.“
The CBA was initially set to run out on Oct. 31, 2025, however has since been prolonged to Jan. 9. With fewer than 72 hours remaining, uncertainty looms over whether or not a deal might be finalized. Sustain with Ballislife for all WNBA CBA updates.
