Less than 100 days remain before the scheduled start of the WNBA’s historic 30th season.
Despite that, negotiations between the league and the union remain at a standstill.
The league has not responded to a proposal the union sent more than four weeks ago. Additionally, there have been no full bargaining sessions between both sides in the new year, sources familiar with negotiations told Front Office Sports.
The WNBA’s reason for not engaging, according to a source familiar with the league’s thinking, is a belief that a response wasn’t necessary based on the contents of the union proposal. Instead, the league is waiting for a more “realistic” proposal from the union, according to a report from ESPN.
“It’s not a constructive way to continue on these negotiations, especially considering the timeline that we’re in,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told Front Office Sports in a phone interview from the Women’s Leadership Summit at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando. “To give the excuse that our proposal was not adequate is concerning.”
The union was seeking a $10.5 million salary cap and a 30% share of the league’s gross revenue. That would amount to an average player salary of over $800,000.
Additionally, the union is looking to eliminate the core designation, reduce the length of rookie-scale contracts, and secure financial support for mental health care among other non-salary related proposal items. The union is also looking to retain player housing, which the league has proposed removing from the CBA. The league has not engaged with these proposal items, sources familiar with negotiations told FOS.
The WNBA’s last proposal includes a max base salary of $1 million—which could increase to more than $1.3 million—with a proposed share of 70% of net revenue, on average, over the deal’s duration. However, the union is not in favor of a revenue share model that it interprets as paying back the league first. Under this proposal, the average salary would amount to about $530,000 with revenue sharing factored in.
As both sides remain at odds over pay structure, the timeline for an expansion draft, free agency, and a college draft becomes increasingly tighter. Multiple league sources previously expressed concern to FOS about the 2026 season being delayed if a deal is not reached by early February.
“I don’t think we’re being pressured because of the timeline at the expense of what we’re really trying to negotiate,” Ogwumike said. “I don’t mean that we’re being disrespectful of the time. We know something like this takes time. If we can do this the right way, it will get done in a way that will be something we can be proud of and have a season.”
This is Ogwumike’s third CBA negotiation as a player and second as union president.
Before she was elected to her first term as president of the union in 2016, Ogwumike was the vice president under WNBA champion Tamika Catchings. She was re-elected as union president for the third time in 2022.
In her early leadership days, Ogwumike said her focus was on understanding governance, protections, benefits, and what it means to be part of the oldest women’s sports union. As she’s become a veteran union leader, she says she’s now spending more time listening, engaging, and sustaining relationships with the entire union network.
“Nobody wants to be behind,” Ogwumike said. “We all want a season, but we also want to sign an agreement that represents our fair share of our value.”
