Cheryl Reeve’s Honest CBA Update Sends Clear Signal About WNBA’s Future

On November 18, Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press published a report regarding the ongoing negotiations between the WNBA league office and the players’ association for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“The WNBA’s latest collective bargaining proposal would include revenue sharing with a maximum salary of more than $1.1 million available to more than one player per team growing each year,” Feinberg wrote. “The new league minimum would be more than $220,000 with an average of more than $460,000. Those numbers would start in the first year of the deal for more than 180 players and increase over the length of the CBA.”

The initial thought from fans was that this was a positive development and that the two sides could be nearing a deal. However, ESPN WNBA insider Alexa Philippou poured cold water on this presumably optimistic sentiment during a November 20 appearance on NBA Today.

“I’m hearing that the players and the WNBPA [the WNBA’s players’ association] do not feel like this proposal moves things forward,” Philippou said on ESPN. “And if you look at the numbers that came out with this report, you see a salary maximum reported of $1.1 million, a minimum of $220,000, and an average salary of $460,000.

“But the issue that the players and the WNBPA seem to have with this proposal is that it does not meaningfully actually apply their request to have a revenue share system in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. What they want — and the players have been really consistent in this message — is that they feel that the salary system needs to grow with the business. And so far, this proposal does not include that to the extent they have been asking for,” she added.

Cheryl Reeve Sends ‘Confident’ Message About WNBA CBA Negotiations

This sentiment from Philippou made it clear that there’s still a lot of work to be done between the two sides before fans can really get excited.

However, a stance that Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve shared during what appeared to be a fan event before the WNBA Draft Lottery earlier this week should spark some positivity.

After speaking about the upcoming draft’s top prospects, Reeve said, “I think things are progressing, so you all know, progressing with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Everything that’s happening is normal course of business,” per a TikTok post from @IxchelMcK.

“They will get a deal done. Very, very confident in that,” Reeve added.

Reeve is as smart as they come in the women’s basketball community, so her confidence bodes well for the league’s future.

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