The WNBA and WNBPA are back at the negotiating table on Thursday for the third consecutive day of marathon bargaining.
In total, both sides have been engaged in negotiations for nearly 30 hours over the last three days in an effort to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement. More than eight proposals have been exchanged, including one from the league that offered a higher salary cap but the same revenue-sharing system.
The WNBA’s most recent compensation offering included a salary cap of $6.2 million, up from the $5.75 million offered in the last known proposal. The share of total revenue going to the players is now roughly 15.5% over the life of the deal, with certain expenses still being deducted, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
The max earnings under this proposal, including revenue-sharing payouts, would reach $1.3 million in Year 1. The average player earnings would be $570,000. However, these are not the base salaries. The average base salary would be roughly $516,600 and the supermax—if it accounts for 20% of the cap—would be $1.24 million. These figures are expected to change as both sides continue exchanging proposals.
“Our proposal on the table is a really historic and transformational deal for these players,” commissioner Cathy Engelbert said after the second day of bargaining. “Huge gains in salaries, benefits, everything you’re seeing beyond that when you see the whole thing.”
Thursday’s bargaining session began around 11 a.m. and once again included WNBPA executive committee members Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Brianna Turner, and Alysha Clark in addition to executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson and other union staff. It was unclear if there were any changes to the league’s representatives, which have included Engelbert, head of league operations Bethany Donaphin, New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai, and Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti.
Multiple sources indicated that Thursday was expected to be another long session as both sides continued to close the gap on their financial proposals and other important issues, such as team-provided housing and the core designation. The union’s last known proposal included a request for a 26% share of the league’s revenue before expenses. Their most recent proposals seek less than 26%, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The WNBPA began negotiations by asking for 40% of the league’s revenue before expenses.
“We’re feeling movement,” Ogwumike said.
On Feb. 23, the WNBA told the players that if a deal was not reached by March 10, the season could face delays. League officials informed general managers of a timeline for the two-team expansion draft and free agency, subject to a handshake agreement by that deadline. After Wednesday’s bargaining session, players said they never felt obligated to adhere to that deadline.
“We have never really considered that as a timeline that has been something to prioritize on our side because we have always been negotiating in good faith,” Ogwumike said. “We’ve experienced lulls, shall I say, in the negotiation. We want to play. That’s why we all flew out here.”
The season’s May 8 tipoff is 57 days away, with training camp slated to start in less than six weeks. If a deal is not reached in the coming days, training camp is expected to be delayed, potentially leading to canceled preseason games, according to multiple sources.
