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The WNBA is in the middle of ongoing negotiations with its players for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. They’ve already extended the deadline for it twice; first to the end of November, and now to January 9th. And it doesn’t seem like much progress is being made on either side.
One player who hasn’t been shy about what the players are seeking is Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers. She was one of the many All-Stars who wore a shirt in pregame warm-ups that said “Pay us what you owe us,” but she’s also one of the brightest young faces of the league, and one of its more marketable stars.
Bueckers recently spoke with Myah Taylor of the Dallas Morning News, where she gave her take on the current state of negotiations.
“We can do things off the court. We can bring more visibility and eyes,” Bueckers said. “[We’re in] the national media, on commercials [and] do large sponsorship deals with brands like Nike and Gatorade and stuff that has national, and even global, visibility. We’re more than just WNBA players and I think we want to get compensated as such,” Bueckers said, referring to the players’ efforts for increased salaries as part of a new CBA.
“There’s things, as WNBA players and the WNBPA, that we’re standing firm on. I think that’s why the extensions are happening and the conversations are continuing to keep going past the deadlines. These deadlines will probably continue to keep getting extended.”
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Bueckers is coming off a tremendous first season in the WNBA, personally, winning Rookie of the Year and being named to the All-WNBA Second Team. Her name was brought up by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier in her exit interview, where she sent a scathing message about the WNBA’s leadership to the rest of the world. Bueckers is clearly someone the league should be celebrating and profiting from, but they’re not going a good enough job.
Everything that has come out about the negotiations makes little sense. The WNBA seems like they try and leak details about what they want so people can see that there’s progress, but then most fans agree that the things they want would likely be bad for the league.
Many people thought the sides would be headed toward a lockout. If no progress is made by January, they may still be headed there.
READ MORE: Why Dallas Wings should pair Paige Bueckers with this top prospect
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