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WNBA labor negotiations appear far from resolved. And according to Sophie Cunningham, the league still hasn’t addressed the issue the players care about most.
On the most recent episode of her Show Me Something podcast with West Wilson, Cunningham offered a blunt assessment of the current state of talks between players and the WNBA.
“There’s so much to get into,” Cunningham said. “I think a lot of people who are on the outside are like, ‘Just sign it. Your salary increase is four or five times higher.’ But that’s not it at all.”
The proposed salary for players is, in fact, much higher than it’s ever been. Under the new structure proposed by the league, maximum salaries in 2026 would jump from roughly $249,000 to more than $1.3 million, while average salaries would increase from about $120,000 to $540,000 in the first year of the deal.
Sophie Cunningham says the players are unified over the issue of revenue sharing.
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images)
But Cunningham says the league has yet to address the players’ central concern: revenue sharing.
“They came back and zero — nothing happened with the revenue share,” Cunningham said. “And that is the whole thing that we’re fighting for.”
The league has proposed players receive roughly 70% of net revenue, while the union has continued pushing for a share of gross revenue. WNBA leadership is adamant that the model proposed by the players’ association is simply not financially sustainable.
Is Revenue Sharing The Reason For The Stalemate?
Cunningham said that players believe the current economic structure of the league is dramatically out of step with other professional sports.
“Pretty much every other league, it’s like 50-50,” she said, referencing revenue splits in leagues such as the NBA.
“If you break it down… if you’re paying $100 for a jersey, the league gets $50, and I get $50,” Cunningham explained. “But right now in the W, it’s like the league gets $97 or $98, and I get $2.”
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She also argued that the league is asking players to commit to significantly more games without improving that revenue split.
“They want to extend our season until November 30,” Cunningham said. “They want 10-plus more games outside of the playoffs… If you want more of our time, then that says even more that you should be giving us more revenue share.”
‘Show Us The Books’
Another major sticking point, Cunningham said, is transparency.
League officials have reportedly argued that larger player revenue shares are difficult because of expenses. But Cunningham says players haven’t seen any financial data to prove that claim.
“We haven’t seen the books,” she said. “They’re talking about expenses and how expenses are so high… it’s like, show us. There’s no way we’re trusting you guys. Just show us.”
Cunningham also criticized the league for attempting to placate players with smaller financial concessions instead of addressing revenue sharing.
“They keep coming back and changing literally half percentages of things we’re not even asking for,” she said. “They give us like $50,000 to $100,000 more on the team salary cap… but they won’t even talk about revenue share.”
Players Are Unified… Or Are They?
Despite the ongoing stalemate, Cunningham said the players’ union is more engaged than ever. And they are prepared to take drastic action if necessary. That includes a strike.
“I’m telling you, we are as unified as it gets right now,” she said.
“And if we don’t have a season, that says a lot more about the WNBA league than us because we’re ready. We are all training. We are all playing. We are ready to go. But we are not going to play for less than what we deserve.”
I’m not entirely convinced this is true.
Cunningham’s comments strike a noticeably sharper tone than other prominent players who have recently spoken publicly about the negotiations.
Just this week, WNBA stars including Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum expressed hopes of reaching an agreement and warned against a work stoppage. They also criticized union leadership’s handling of the negotiations, specifically “the lack of adequate player involvement in the process.”
READ: WNBA Stars Raise ‘Serious Concerns’ About Union Leadership As CBA Standoff Drags On
So what’s the real story? Right now, it depends on who you ask.
But without a CBA, the expansion draft, the WNBA Draft, free agency and the 2026 season are all in jeopardy.
“It’s going to be legit a sh*t show,” Cunningham concluded.
And that is something we can all agree on.
