With simply three days remaining, the WNBA and Ladies’s Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation (WNBPA) have till Jan. 9 to succeed in a collective bargaining settlement. With an extension already in place, a number of outcomes are potential. Lunar Owls and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier expressed her opinions and beliefs on the matter Monday night time.
Vice President of the WNBPA, Collier, hasn’t shied away when discussing the upcoming CBA. Notably calling out WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in September, Collier and the gamers are visibly pissed off. In August, Collier said the CBA talks lacked “urgency,” and the 2 sides weren’t shut. Skip forward to January, either side stay at odds.
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It is so simple as it sounds: The gamers are in search of an elevated income share—basically an even bigger piece of the pie. With out the gamers, there is not a league, and in keeping with ESPN, the events stay divided with regards to income share. On the heart of dispute, that is one level the gamers are standing agency on. Subjects reminiscent of elevated salaries, observe services, working situations, advantages, and maternity go away stay on the forefront.
In line with ESPN’s Alex Philipou, the WNBPA’s newest November proposal included a $12.5 million wage cap in 2026, a most wage of $2.5 million, and a mean wage of $1 million. Rejected by the WNBA, the WNBPA’s proposal would additionally embrace 30% of gross income.
WNBA and WNBPA at Odds Over Income Share, Participant Salaries
There stays an deadlock, with the league projecting losses of as much as $700 million. It is clear the league is balancing present CBA negotiations with long-term monetary sustainability in thoughts. Such a loss may compromise the league’s future. The WNBA has since countered with a max wage of $1 million and a mean wage of $500,000. So far as income, the WNBA’s proposal contains larger than 50% of internet income.
There is a key distinction between income varieties, which is a present scorching subject in sports activities. To grasp this subject higher, it is best to elucidate the core distinction between the 2 sorts of income: Gross income is earlier than income bills, and internet income is income minus bills. Such bills may embrace working prices, participant salaries, and extra. Collier weighed in on the current negotiations on Monday.
“Our deadline is arising in a few days,” mentioned Collier on the Unmatched broadcast. “I feel you simply heard a variety of chatter about what we’re asking for is just not sustainable for the enterprise. Being on this aspect with Unmatched, I do know what it takes to run a sustainable enterprise. I feel if they cannot discover a mannequin that makes it occur, they should put folks in place who can, as a result of we have confirmed it’s potential, there’s a approach, and we’re thriving in that.”
Set to bear surgical procedure on each of her ankles, Collier will stay sidelined for the subsequent 4-6 months. With the information, she’s going to miss the whole thing of the 2026 Unmatched season. Nonetheless, that is not stopping her from main within the entrepreneurial area. Co-founder of Unmatched—alongside Breanna Stewart—the league has exceeded expectations. Together with state-of-the-art services, cooks, coaching rooms, arenas, and observe courts, Unmatched is setting the usual for what an expert girls’s sports activities league ought to embody.
Unmatched Commissioner Micky Lawler detailed a number of upgrades the League has made within the offseason. The valuation elevated to $340 million, and the league has high-profile sponsorship offers with Sephora, Samsung, Below Armour, State Farm, Cheez-it, and extra. Securing a multi-year media partnership with TNT has offered the league with ample income to pay its gamers’ salaries above $200,000.
Napheesa Collier with one other sturdy WNBA CBA assertion on the Unmatched broadcast
“Being on this aspect with Unmatched, I do know what it takes to run a sustainable enterprise. So I feel if they will’t discover a mannequin that makes that occur they should put folks in place who can.” pic.twitter.com/gl0tFcGWQk
— No Cap Area WBB (@NoCapSpaceWBB) January 6, 2026
Why Income Share Issues within the WNBA
Income sharing is barely a small subject of negotiations, however a important one. Below the 2020 CBA, the WNBA operates on a hard and fast mannequin, which offers gamers with annual progress of three%. Whereas NBA and WNBA salaries differ extensively, gamers aren’t anticipating the large $300,000—$400,000 paydays awarded within the NBA. These athletes are merely asking for an equal share of the pie. Their NBA counterparts obtain 49-50% of the NBA’s basketball-related earnings, whereas WNBA athletes obtain simply 9.3%.
The gamers, as a substitute, are in search of a unique construction and a better income share share. It is no secret that the WNBA has seen record-breaking income from merchandise, sponsorships, and ticket gross sales, amongst different sources. As well as, the WNBA lately signed an 11-year, $2.2 billion media rights deal to broadcast video games on Versant beginning in 2026.
Whereas the 2 sides stay divided, the subsequent CBA is figured to be probably the most transformative in league historical past. With a number of subjects at stake, it is a important negotiation not just for the present gamers however for the way forward for girls’s sports activities. Whereas the PA opted out of the present CBA, the common participant wage for 2025 was simply north of $66,000. The mixture of a super-max wage of $249,244 and a low income share share is inadequate for the gamers.
The gamers are the product.
Napheesa Collier “Believes” A Deal Will Get Finished
With a number of days remaining, the clock continues to tick. Whereas a deal might be imminent, there’s additionally a threat of a piece stoppage if no extension is in sight. Gamers voted to authorize a strike, and a lockout is feasible. As Caitlin Clark instructed the media throughout USA coaching camp, “That is the largest second the WNBA has ever seen. That is not one thing that may be tousled, and we will battle for all the pieces that we deserve. On the identical time, we have to play basketball.”
There may be reality to Clark’s phrases; the WNBA is at its peak, experiencing document numbers throughout the board. With progress off the charts, the league is about to increase to 18 groups by 2030. Not solely was the WNBA 2025 season the most-watched on ESPN networks ever, however nationwide viewership (per Engelbert) additionally elevated by 23% as of July 2025. Merchandise gross sales climbed to 40% by All-Star weekend, together with attendance, which elevated to 26% (the best in a long time). Whereas Clark has moved the needle in historic methods, the WNBA will proceed to capitalize on NCAA recognition.
Collier shared her ideas with Lisa Leslie on whether or not a deal can be reached and on what the gamers are unwilling to sacrifice.
“I do suppose a deal’s gonna get executed,” mentioned Collier. “We’re standing agency in what we imagine in. We’re not going to again down, and we will not take much less. The game has simply grown an excessive amount of, it will be a disservice to the individuals who got here earlier than us, to the work that we put in, to take lower than what we’re owed.”
The CBA was initially set to run out on Oct. 31, 2025, however has since been prolonged to Jan. 9. With fewer than 72 hours remaining, uncertainty looms over whether or not a deal can be finalized. Sustain with Ballislife for all WNBA CBA updates.
