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It’s no secret that the WNBA players’ union isn’t supportive of the league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) offerings. In particular, the players seem offended by the suggestions that the league could take away team-sponsored housing and bump up the start date to potentially as early as mid-March.
Pushing the beginning of the WNBA season to mid-March already poses a challenge for college players who will be drafted, especially since many will likely be participating in March Madness and hoping to win a championship. Traditionally, the WNBA Draft has been held a few weeks after the tournament ends.
But changing the start date could also negatively impact the players who are already in the league, especially those who play in other leagues (like Unrivaled and AU Pro Basketball) during the offseason. Per reporting by Front Office Sports’ Annie Costabile, plenty of players are unhappy that the WNBA — which “is not yet the premier league in terms of salaries, resources, and benefits” — feels it has the authority to potentially derail their earning potential elsewhere.
It’s currently unclear if the WNBA would expect league exclusivity from players should the latest proposal be ratified, but it seems to be implicitly implied, Costabile also reported. The proposed schedule would interfere with EuroLeague and Project B. The latter league, which has yet to get fully off the ground, has already signed star players such as Nneka Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Mitchell, and Sophie Cunningham.
This week Cunningham appeared to hint that she could be swayed to leave the WNBA if Project B is successful. As she said on a recent episode of her “Show Me Something” podcast, her body “can’t handle” playing year-round.
She added, “I have other things I want to do that I’m interested in, and so this just gives me the perfect opportunity to go play, get cultured, see the world, but also be able to come home and still experience what I want to experience.”
Inside the quarrel about team-sponsored housing
Under the terms of the current CBA, which was signed in January 2020, teams provide either a one-bedroom apartment or a housing stipend to the athletes on their rosters. The stipends can very team by team, and players who have children under 13 living with them on either a full-time or part-time basis (excluding visitation arrangements) are granted a two-bedroom apartment.
Removing this option is a problem for a multitude of players, including those who rely on the housing to have literal homes, players who are returning to the States after playing overseas, European players who are unfamiliar with their American market, and players who are on the lower end of the earnings spectrum.
