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A work stoppage now would have been one of the worst own goals in sports history, and certainly would have sealed the fate of embattled commissioner Cathy Engelbert. It remains to be seen if Engelbert did enough to secure her own fate alongside that of this upcoming milestone season, but the thought of listening to more protracted arguing about salaries, revenue sharing, or housing stipends rather than watching games featuring Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, or Paige Bueckers certainly would have buried her reputation for good.
The WNBA could not afford to sabotage itself that way, especially now, amid the ongoing surge in interest and revenue. As the elder statesmen of women’s professional sports in America, heading into its 30th season, the WNBA is more popular than it’s ever been. The stars continually capture our imagination, ongoing expansion reflects readily available investors (even if Boston inexplicably gets ignored), and television ratings and advertising dollars are still going up. A lockout and/or strike now would have inflicted serious damage at a time when there are so many more options for fans to turn to (NWSL, PWHL anyone?).
It took 17 months and a few extensions since players opted out of their previous CBA, and while details are yet to be officially released, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported it includes a salary cap that jumps from $1.5 million to $7 million, a supermax floor of $1.4 million, an average salary of $600,000 with a minimum above $300,000, and average revenue sharing of nearly 20 percent across the deal.
This was Engelbert’s statement early Wednesday: “We have aligned on key elements of a new collective bargaining agreement together. We still need to finalize a formal term sheet, but the progress made in these discussions marks a transformative step forward for players and the league. It underscores a shared commitment to the continued growth of the game. So, we’ll share additional details as they become available.
“We’re very proud to be leading women’s sports. These players are amazing, and we’re going to have an amazing 30th season tipping off in May.”
Though she still gets caught up in the corporate speak that likely stems from a multi-decade career in business (she was the CEO of Deloitte before becoming the WNBA’s first commissioner in 2019), I couldn’t help but silently applaud the commissioner’s use of the word “players” not once but twice in the statement. Back in October, when she sat for a state of the league address prior to Las Vegas’s Finals win over Phoenix, she reduced said players to “stakeholders,” ones who were “misaligned” with league refereeing that continues to fall short.
“Referees and their work serve the game. That service at the highest level requires alignment with its stakeholders to perform and be held accountable to that performance based on that alignment,” Engelbert said then. “I think it’s pretty clear that we’re misaligned currently on what our stakeholders want from officiating … There are no greater stakeholders than our players. Their voice is integral to the alignment that is required for good officiating. We look forward to including their perspectives on how our staff can better serve the game moving forward.”
I wrote it then and I’ll write it now: Engelbert could have just said, “It needs to get better.”
With this newest deal (and we’ll soon find out how many years it is), the stakeholders, er, players, are better off than ever, setting new standards for all women athletes along the way. For a league founded on equal doses of opportunity and activism, that matters.
“This is historical for women’s sports. I told Cathy it’s not just for the players that are entering the league or the players that aren’t already here,” union president Nneka Ogwumike said. “We’re just really grateful to be able to come to a deal. We’re proud of ourselves.”
“The deal is going to be transformational,” echoed union vice president Breanna Stewart. “It’s going to build and help create a system where everybody is getting exactly what they deserve and more from on the court and off the court aspects.”
Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at tara.sullivan@globe.com. Follow her @Globe_Tara.
