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Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike and Cathy EngelbertCredit: Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty; Matei Horvath/Getty
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The WNBA is finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement
The deal increases players’ pay up to around $1 million per year
Players and league officials came to the agreement after about 100 hours of negotiations over the past week
After lengthy negotiations over the past week, players in the WNBA have reached an agreement with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement.
“We have aligned on key elements of a new collective bargaining agreement together,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters on Wednesday, March 18.
The deal is still pending approval by the players and WNBA board of governors, and details were not immediately released, ESPN reported.
Engelbert, WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson and four members of the WNBPA executive committee — president Nneka Ogwumike, vice presidents Breanna Stewart and Alysha Clark and treasurer Brianna Turner — stood before reporters early Wednesday morning outside a midtown Manhattan, N.Y. hotel to announce the tentative agreement.
“I think this can be summed up in two words: player empowerment … players coming to the table and standing on business and being reminded of the collective voice and of what it means to be in a union and the power of this union,” Jackson said. “They never forgot it, and they have taken it, like they always do, to the next level.”
According to the stakeholders, some players’ salaries will now reach $1 million while the average compensation will be around $500,000.
“We’re just really grateful to be able to come to a deal,” Ogwumike, 35, said. “We’re proud of ourselves. And quite frankly, we always told you all we were going to stand on business, and that’s what this looks like.”
Credit: Aryanna Frank/Getty
She added, “For the first time player salaries are tied to a truly meaningful share of league revenue, driving exponential growth in the salary cap, increasing average compensation beyond half a million dollars and raising the standard across facilities, staffing and support.”
The “transformational” deal comes just weeks before training camp on April 19 and the start of the preseason on April 25. The regular season tips off on May 8.
After 100 hours at the negotiating table, both sides are toasting — champagne glasses in hand — to the new deal.
“It’s [been] a process, but we’re very proud to be leading in women’s sports, and these players are amazing, and we’re going to have an amazing 30th season tipping off in May,” Engelbert said.
Read the original article on People
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