Angel Reese threatens to go on strike as WNBA faces crisis talks | Other | Sport

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has informally requested to join the Women’s National Basketball Players Union and hinted at a potential strike if the league doesn’t meet their demands. The WNBPA has already terminated its current collective bargaining agreement, causing it to end after the 2025 WNBA season instead of 2027, as was originally planned.

With WNBA ratings and revenues on the rise, largely thanks to the influence of Reese and Caitlin Clark, the league is enjoying unprecedented exposure. “I need to be in the meetings because I’m hearing that if (the league) don’t give us what we want, we’re sitting out,” Reese disclosed on her ‘Unapologetically Angel’ podcast with fellow WNBA star Dijonai Carrington, who concurred, saying: “That’s a possibility, for real.”

Carrington, who represented the Connecticut Sun as a union rep last season and has since been traded to the Dallas Wings, brings more experience to the table.

The Wings, holding the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, are expected to choose another emerging talent, UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

Reese has voiced her dissatisfaction with her low WNBA salary multiple times; she is due to make $74,909 next season after signing a four-year, $324,383 contract upon entering the league. Following a lucrative $2.2 billion media rights deal inked in July 2024, Disney, NBC, and Amazon have secured broadcasting rights for WNBA games over the next 11 years.

Terri Carmichael Jackson, the executive director of WNBPA, stated in October that players are demanding a larger portion of league revenue and are advocating for the removal of the hard salary cap. “The players made the decision to opt out of the last CBA to realign the business and save the league from its own limitations,” Carmichael Jackson declared in a statement.

“Today, with a stronger foundation and new investments flowing in, they’re opting out again-this time to fully professionalise the league, secure proper wages, improve working conditions and lock in meaningful benefits.”

Bloomberg reported that the WNBA generated $200 million in revenue last season, with only 9.3 percent of that sum going towards player salaries. In comparison, NBA players receive 50 percent of league revenues, meaning half of the $10.6 billion generated in 2023 went to the players.

The WNBA is also expanding, with Golden State, Toronto, and Portland set to join the league. The main concern for current WNBA players is that future rookies will benefit from new CBA terms while veterans may struggle on outdated contracts, a sentiment echoed during Reese’s conversation with Carrington.

The average WNBA salary currently stands at $119,590, and some players seek additional financial gain by playing overseas during the off-season. The establishment of Unrivaled, co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, has helped propel the movement with the average salary set at $250,000 for the 36 participating players.

The WNBA season traditionally spans from May to October, but the new Unrivaled league operates on a much shorter schedule of just nine weeks. Reese, who has signed with Unrivaled, candidly shared her financial reality during an Instagram Live session last year: “I just hope y’all know, the WNBA don’t pay my bills at all. I don’t even think it pays one of my bills. Literally.”

Beyond the court, Reese has carved out a significant presence online, amassing a legion of followers and securing lucrative endorsement deals.

While she enjoys these additional income streams, not all WNBA players are as fortunate. Nevertheless, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) is actively advocating for immediate changes to improve the situation.

This article originally appeared on Mirror US