Gilbert Arenas Provides Solution to Controversial WNBA Issue

The WNBA could be headed to a lockout this offseason, right when it’s the most popular it’s ever been. The current CBA expires around Halloween this year, and the league and players’ union seem far apart in negotiations.

More than 40 players attended negotiations in Indianapolis during All-Star Weekend last month, and all of them left with a bad taste in their mouths.

“Yesterday’s meeting went not well,” Dallas Wings rookie sensation Paige Bueckers stated. “I think it was great for us to show a collective as players how important that meeting was to us. It was over 40 people in that room, and that was historic for CBA negotiations. But I don’t think, there definitely wasn’t a point where we agreed and we were coming together to meet sides.”

That led to WNBA All-Stars wearing pre-game warm-up shirts that said “Pay Us What You Owe Us.” With only a few months before the CBA expires, it’s not looking good for the next deal.

Three-time NBA All-Star and former Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas gave his view on what the players should demand for the new CBA, and it’s a bold idea, as you’d expect with Arenas.

“I think the problem here is this. Stop asking for a revenue split. [Say] I want real money. Take the cap off. Let our owner pay us what he wants to pay us. Here’s why. Okay, so look, when you’re talking about a revenue split, it’s no different than business, right?” Arenas questioned.

“We can split our revenue 50/50. Then what does the person who has the business do? Ah, there’s no profit. I’ve got all these bills to pay. So there’s no revenue,” Arenas added.

“So that’s a pointless thing to do, right? Because they’re going to offset how much they lost. So they’re like, ‘Oh, you want revenues, but we lost $40 million, so how are we going to give you [when we have] no money?'”

Gilbert Arenas wants the WNBA to remove the salary cap entirely and just let the owners spend whatever they want, like the MLB does. The NBA has the tax aprons in place so the smaller markets can still spend on a similar level to the New Yorks and Bostons of the world. In the WNBA, Arenas argues that it may be a good thing.

“What you want is to take off the hard cap. Let the billionaires’ egos kick in because one thing somebody with money doesn’t want to do is be on the same playing field with someone who’s brokered. So if I make 11 billion and he makes 500 million, I don’t want to be on the same playing field; this is business. I want to buy his players out.”

The more invested owners will force the lesser spending ones to find more investors or to sell their teams to someone willing to spend. It sounds nice, in theory, but it wouldn’t be feasible for long.

“If Vegas can get their private plane, let them. What happens? All the girls start talking… And what happens is everybody wants to travel there. What ends up happening to the bottom half is that they go get new investors,” Arenas said.

“Stop trying to be greedy,” Arenas stated. “You want to own 100% of everything with f***ing 200 million. No. Go get someone who can invest, and you lose 75% of your business. You got 25. But that’s 11 billion, man right there.”

The WNBA just signed an 11-year, $2 billion TV contract that kicks in next season, and the players would like to see a larger revenue share of it. The WNBA may have lost money, but the league has never been more interest in the league with rising superstars like Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, Angel Reese, and more. It’ll only continue to rise in popularity, too.

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