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WNBA has never been as popular as it is today, which may be good timing for the league.
The league’s collective negotiation agreement with Players Union expires 31 October 2025, leaving a possible workstop on the table.
Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) chose from the agreement last year and said at that time that it was looking for “a business model that reflects (players’) real value that includes higher wages, improved professional working conditions, expanded health benefits and crucial investments needed for long -term growth.”
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The WNBA logo on the course in Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles 9 July 2024. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
Without agreement in place, WNBPA director Terri Jackson players said will negotiate “as long as it takes” to get a reasonable deal.
“There is no better moment than right now for women’s sports and especially for women’s basketball and especially for us. Then we grab at all levels? Absolutely,” Jackson said recently via the New York Post.
“We have been aggressive in terms of our discussions, our suggestions – majority – and our meeting plan. It is a group project. We have done our part of it and we are just hopeful that the league sees the opportunity to have that kind of milestones really in place that work against significant progress. It is not just a catching phrase – significant progress with halfway points and work against the finalization of October 31.
“Certainly, we can’t get that far from last season and this season will then start going backwards. It won’t be available,” Jackson added. “I don’t think anyone in the league or team side wants it.”
The WNBA logo on a ball in the fourth quarter of the Game 1 of the WNBA final between Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics at Keyarena in Seattle September 7, 2018. (Jennifer Buchanan/USA Today Sports)
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In March, Angel Reese admitted that players could “sit out” … “If you don’t give us what we want.”
Like Jackson, Reese also said players are “prepared to stay at the negotiating table as long as it takes.”
Reese signed a four-year, $ 324,383 rookie contract ahead of her first WNBA season in 2024. She earned less than $ 75,000 in her first year and will do less than that in 2025.
In October, Reese said she couldn’t afford to pay her bills based on this salary in an Instagram Live video.
Caitlin Clark from Indiana Fever and Angel Reese from Chicago Sky during a game 1 June 2024 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
Last season, WNBA had its most regular season of 24 years and its highest participation in 22. Over 2.3 million people participated in WNBA games in 2024, an increase of 48% from 2023.
