WNBA, players’ union log 12-hour marathon talks that are ‘going in the right direction’

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and players union met for nearly 12 hours trying to get a new collective bargaining agreement deal done to start the upcoming season on time.

Union executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said early Wednesday morning, 10 hours after the negotiations started, that there were “a lot of conversations going in the right direction.”

Jackson said that those conversations would continue.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert came out of the hotel where negotiations were being held at 5 a.m. EDT to briefly talk to reporters.

“It’s complex, but we’re working towards a win-win deal like we’ve been saying, transformational deal for these players. That balances all the things we’ve been trying to balance with continued investment by our owners,” she said. “So, we’re working hard towards that and still have work to do.”

The meeting came on a day that the league had said at least a handshake agreement on a labor deal would need to be done to start the season as scheduled.

“We’ve got to get this deal done. We’ve got to get it done soon,” said Engelbert, who didn’t take questions.

The union leadership walked into the hotel shortly before 5 p.m. EDT. The group included executive committee members Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Brianna Turner. The league was represented by Engelbert, head of league operations Bethany Donaphin and New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai

The players left just before 3 a.m. EDT., exiting out a side door of the hotel, declining to answer questions.

“Every meeting is a positive meeting,” Jackson said. “Seriously, every meeting is a positive meeting. The fact that we scheduled meetings, that we offer dates to schedule meetings that we actually get together, get in the room. I think that’s positive. It’s taking as long as it’s taking. But, you know, that’s what it needs to be.”

The sides exchanged proposals over the weekend with the league sending one on Saturday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Revenue sharing is the key sticking point between the sides.

Time is running out. The league had said it would need a deal by Tuesday to be able to have it signed by the end of the month. Under that timeline, the expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto would be held sometime between April 1-6, according to a timetable obtained by the AP.

Free agent qualifying offers, including franchise player tags, would be sent out April 7-8. Teams would then have three days to negotiate with the more than 80% of players who are free agents. The signing period would take place from April 12-18.

Training camps would open the next day and the season would be able to start on May 8.

But for any of that to happen, the two sides have to figure out a revenue sharing model. The union’s previous proposal from a week ago had asked for an average of 26% of the gross revenue — revenue before expenses — over the course of the CBA. That would include only 25% in the first year of the new deal. The league has said that number was unrealistic.

The WNBA’s last few proposals have offered more than 70% of net revenue, with that number going up as the league continues to grow.

The meeting comes three days after Caitlin Clark said at USA Basketball training camp that the two sides should stop sending proposals and instead meet face-to-face until a deal gets done.

“I don’t understand why we don’t just get in a room and iron it out and shake hands,” she said. “That’s how business is. You look each other in the eye, you shake hands, you respect both sides. For me, that’s what I would love to see.”

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