COMMENTARY | New WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement Shows Path Forward

The WNBA and its players’ union announced they had reached a preliminary agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) March 20 after months of deliberations between the two organizations and looming threats of a strike or lockout, which could have delayed the start of the 2026 season. 

The CBA, last renegotiated in 2020, is an agreement between the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) that enforces the terms of employment, including pay, benefits and revenue sharing. The new CBA raises salary caps, increases minimum and maximum player salaries — which will automatically adjust each year — and requires teams to roster 12 players, up from 11, along with two developmental spots.

The proposed CBA sets a clear, progressive path forward for the league. However, the agreement’s increased benefits fall well short of the contractual guarantees offered to NBA players. There is still a long way to go before we achieve true gender parity in professional sports.

The current CBA was set to run through 2027, but the WNBPA opted out early after frustrations from players arose over salaries, retirement benefits and travel accommodations, among other complaints. 

The new deal’s text includes many structural improvements, though fewer material ones. It seems clear WNBPA leaders were thinking toward the future, sacrificing some short-term gains for the ability to point back in six years and demand expansions on items already in place rather than having to implement new frameworks.

Take revenue sharing, for example. In 2024, under the current CBA, all WNBA players combined received roughly 9% of the league’s net revenue — after a complicated calculation where the WNBA needed to hit a certain revenue target for the players to get any share of the revenue at all. By contrast, the proposed CBA guarantees players 20% of gross revenue, increasing the size of both the slice and the pie WNBA players draw from. Net revenue, the pie the players previously drew from, was the league’s revenue after expenses such as travel and arena rentals.

That said, WNBPA leaders could have asked for a greater percentage within the same net revenue deal, as they were offered as much as 70% of net revenue by the league. They likely chose to leave some money on the table in return for a portion of gross revenue — a policy in line with other major sports leagues — which will, in turn, put them in a better bargaining position in the future and pay significant dividends as the league continues to boom.

The same is true for many other portions of the agreement. Players secured mandated payments — in effect, one-time pensions — for retirees, but they will start at a mere $30,000 for athletes who played five years in the league, $50,000 for those who played eight to 11 and $100,000 for those who played 12 or more. A new baseline rookie salary will give the 2026 first overall pick about $500,000 in their first season, instead of less than $100,000 in previous years — both numbers that will soon seem paltry for the level of popularity of the steadily growing league.

While huge achievements for the WNBA, elements of the new CBA pale in comparison to the benefits currently afforded to NBA players. Compared to the 20% of league revenue shared with WNBA players under this new deal, NBA players have historically gotten a lion’s share, currently around 50%. In contrast to the WNBA, where teams are only just being allowed to fly charter instead of commercial, NBA teams have been chartering flights for decades.

Still, when implemented, the proposed CBA will be a meaningful first step toward parity in women’s sports. With WNBA viewership skyrocketing and the emergence of marketable young stars, players have put most questions about the league’s feasibility to rest. The next step is achieving true equality with men’s professional sports in pay and benefits. 

WNBA players signed the deal March 23, getting the upstart CBA past its first hurdle. 90% of players participated in the vote, which resulted in a unanimous consensus. While most major details have been ironed out, the writing of the long-form contract could take another few weeks, though the language coming out of both camps makes acceptance seem all but guaranteed. 

However, this should not be the end of the road. For players and fans alike, the fight towards the next CBA — after this one expires in 2032 — begins now.