For all the success of the WNBA over the past year, a roadblock could drastically shift the state of women’s basketball. The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association must agree on a new collective bargaining agreement before the 2026 season or risk a work stoppage. The WNBPA opted out of the current CBA in October.
Monica McNutt, who covers the NBA and WNBA for ESPN, told Front Office Sports she believes negotiations could “get interesting” between the two sides.
“I think that these women are more organized than maybe we’ve ever seen them be. I think that owners are going to have to really sit and understand that if they’re not in the right group in terms of valuing their organizations and the resources that they’re providing for their athletes, then maybe they don’t need to be a part of this moving forward,” McNutt said on The FOS Interview.
McNutt, who played college basketball at Georgetown more than a decade ago, said that players nowadays are no longer dependent on the WNBA to earn a living, between NIL (name, image, and likeness) in the NCAA, overseas options, and the establishment of Unrivaled which paid players an average of $220,000 in its first season.
She also believes players know that the next CBA will shape the future of women’s basketball, so it’s integral for them to get a favorable deal.
“There is a conviction that this is not just about this present generation; it’s laying precedent moving forward,” McNutt said.
Earlier this month, Chicago Sky All-Star Angel Reese alluded to a potential work stoppage on her podcast Unapologetically Angel while speaking to Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington.
“I’m hearing that if [the WNBA] don’t give us what we want, we’re sitting out,” Reese said.
Carrington, who is a WNBPA players representative and said she’s been present in CBA-related meetings, called sitting out a “possibility.”
Given the influx of revenue the league is expecting from the 11-year, $2.2 billion media-rights deal that will kick in by the 2026 season, it would make sense that players’ salaries would also increase. However, there are intricacies in creating this deal and finding a middle ground between equitable pay and keeping the league sustainable for its owners.
Entering the 2025 season, WNBA players’ minimum salary is around $66,000, while the maximum salary is around $250,000 per year. Players are prepared to be free agents by next year to set up a potential pay increase—including 21 of last season’s 24 All-Stars.
