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Revenue sharing and player housing remain the two biggest obstacles in negotiations between the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) as the sides continue talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike said those issues were expected to be the primary focus during a fifth consecutive day of negotiations Saturday. Both sides are attempting to reach an agreement quickly to avoid any potential disruptions to the upcoming WNBA season.
“It’s very important for us to nail those two things down which is I think the biggest thing on the agenda today,” Ogwumike said between bargaining sessions that began Saturday afternoon, as reported by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. “So we want to make sure that we can get that.”
Revenue sharing remains the largest hurdle in the negotiations. The league’s proposals have been based on players receiving a percentage of net revenue — revenue after expenses — while the union has pushed for a share of gross revenue, which is calculated before expenses are deducted.
When negotiations began more than a year ago, the union initially sought 40% of gross revenue. That proposal was later reduced to 26% prior to a marathon in-person bargaining session earlier this week. Meanwhile, the league has proposed players receive more than 70% of net revenue.
“We’ve talked a lot about revenue share, which that’s obviously going to be, I don’t even really like calling it the elephant in the room. Like it’s there, you know, like we’re going to talk about it,” Ogwumike said. “But housing is big, you know, and housing is really big. And I think that perhaps people understanding this negotiation or like learning about it has really shown like how meaningful something like a housing benefit is, especially for the women in the W.”
WNBA teams have paid for player housing since the league’s early years, but the league has proposed changes to that structure in the new agreement.
“We’re trying to enter into this transitional space where we are now making enough money toward to be able to take care of that, but we’re not quite at the point where we can eliminate it outright,” Ogwumike said.
League commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that a deal likely needs to be finalized by early next week to prevent potential complications with the league’s basketball calendar.
The WNBA season is currently scheduled to begin May 8, with preseason games set for April 25. Before the season begins, the league must also complete an expansion draft for Portland and Toronto, conduct free agency for the majority of players and hold the college draft.
