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The WNBA’s latest collective bargaining proposal, submitted to the players’ union Friday night, did not include a revenue share split beyond 15 percent, sources told SBJ Saturday.
The WNBPA had waited almost six weeks for a WNBA reply to its request for a 30% share of league and team revenue and a $10M-plus salary cap. Although it was believed the league had previously offered 15%, sources told SBJ it was always less than 15% — and Friday night’s offer similarly does not surpass that number.
The players have almost unanimously authorized the WNBPA executive committee to strike if it sees fit, and sources said there is a sense that a player picket line could be the next move, possibly as soon as next week at the site of the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
The WNBPA and the WNBA were not immediately available for comment Saturday. But any executive committee decision to strike would ultimately be made with a recommendation from WNBPA’s staff and counsel.
Sources have said team executives leaguewide have been aware of the strike scenario and are bracing for perhaps a delay in the 2026 season that is scheduled to begin on May 8. Last week, the union posted an Instagram story about a near players strike at the 1964 All-Star game, leading to speculation in league circles that the WNBA players were also close to striking themselves.
“I think that for me personally, like the sooner it gets, the closer it gets to WNBA season, we’re prepared to do it — to not play,” the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart said this past week on Myles Turner’s podcast. “But…we want to play because we know how important it is to be on the court. For a number of reasons — for the people, for the fans, for the city.
“But it’ll be something that’s, that’s really tough if push comes to shove because….we’re comparing apples to oranges. The W and the NBA contracts are vastly different. So it’s like, yeah, the top 10, maybe 15 players can survive without a W contract. But the rest it’s like, no, you don’t want to go that much without getting paid. I feel like the PA is doing a great job of making sure that we have like the amenities and the resources, and if we don’t get what we want, we will sit out. But we don’t want to do that.”
Sources familiar with the league believe the WNBA has made myriad concessions throughout negotiations, such as a revenue share model that increases player salaries as business grows and by including team and league revenue in the overall pie.
In addition, at their last face-to-face negotiation session in New York Monday, the league reminded players how high the salaries for 2026 and beyond will grow. For instance, the league is offering a $1.295M projected maximum salary in 2026 (up from $250,000 in 2025), a $1.87M projected max salary by 2031 and, if league revenue grows at a higher rate, a max salary in 2031 of $2.4M.
Similarly, average salaries would project at $540,000 in 2026 (up from $120,000 in 2025), $780,000 by 2031 and, with higher league revenue growth, at $1M by 2031.
“For me, it’s like, this is the first time we’re in a revenue share model,” Stewart said on the podcast. “So before it was like we had like a hard cap and we had a structure and…you could have 220 max and everything else kind of trickled down. Now we’re gonna like really blow that out of the water, which is incredible.
“But I know like personally as WNBA players, it’s like, well, we’ve signed however many CBA deals before, and we just don’t wanna get gypped. We don’t want to feel like we’re signing something and we’re actually getting like screwed because now we know how much you need us. We see the valuations between all the teams and all the things and the expansion fees. And it’s like, no, there’s a lot of money behind this. So like, don’t forget to pay us, too. So it’s just really a back and forth battle.”
