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MIAMI — The WNBPA is reestablishing alignment.
That was the messaging from vice president Breanna Stewart when asked about the state of the union after a letter she and first vice president Kelsey Plum authored recently leaked.
In the three-page letter, Stewart and Plum expressed “serious concerns about how the PA is handling the current negotiations.” They also shared a belief that the lack of progress in negotiations is due to a breakdown in communication between WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson and the players. The WNBA previously set a March 10 target date to reach an agreement without delaying the 2026 season.
“That letter was supposed to be in private,” Stewart said at a USA Basketball training camp in Miami on Friday. “Plum and I had some concerns we wanted to address with Terri and get the entire executive committee back on track, just making a path forward to get the best deal possible. It was unfortunate that became public knowledge.”
The WNBPA executive committee met on Tuesday night after the letter was leaked in what Stewart described as being a “tougher call.” Stewart and Plum also spoke with Jackson privately. The WNBPA executive director called it a “good conversation.”
“Terri is our executive director,” Stewart said. “We know she is leading us in the best way possible. While there may be differences of opinions or questions that are being asked, it’s all in good faith knowing we want to make sure we do what’s right for all the players.”
Stewart and Plum are both in Miami for a three-day USA Basketball camp in preparation for the Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico next week. When asked whether she felt her concerns in the letter were adequately addressed by Jackson, Plum told media members she wanted to focus on camp.
The WNBA is currently waiting on a counterproposal from the union. The league’s last proposal included a small bump in the salary cap from $5.65 million to $5.75 million, but it did not move on revenue sharing. The $100,000 salary cap increase was the result of the league shifting money from projected earnings to guaranteed earnings, not an actual increase to their financial offering, according to multiple sources familiar with negotiations.
Details regarding the union’s counterproposal were discussed during Thursday’s executive committee meeting, but Stewart did not share specifics on when it would be shared with the league.
Outside of Stewart and Plum, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Rhyne Howard all spoke to the media on Day 1 of training camp. They each shared similar sentiments on the state of negotiations, echoing a desire to play the 2026 season while maintaining that work still needs to be done at the bargaining table.
“I want to play,” Copper said. “I want us to figure it out. I want us to be able to negotiate and both sides get something that they like. I would like us to figure it out quickly, so that we can have a season.”
“We’re still in this fight to get what we deserve,” Gray said. “The state of our union still sees that as our main focus. With any transformation there’s going to be conversations and debates that happen behind the scenes but everybody wants the common goal to be paid, to be treated, to be valued like we should.”
The 30th WNBA season is slated to tip off on May 8 with training camp beginning on April 19. The league still has to conduct an expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, free agency, and a standard collegiate draft before the season can begin.
