WNBA Scores Historic CBA After Marathon Negotiations
Yesterday’s price is not today’s price.
On the eve of its 30th season, the WNBA has scored a historic deal, verbally agreeing to terms on a collective bargaining agreement that immediately enriches the entire union membership.
One of the big wins for the players is the expansion of the salary cap from $1.5 million to $7 million, which effectively gives every player in the W a 466% raise.
Supermax contracts will now be worth $1.4 million, up from $249, 244 in 2025. The league minimum will improve from $66,000 to $300,000, and the league’s average salary will go from $120,000 to $600,000.
“We’ve always believed that as this game grows, the players who power it must grow with it,” WNBA Players’ Association Nneka Ogwumike said in a statement she posted to X once the deal was announced.
She continued, “For the first time, player salaries are tied to a truly meaningful share of league revenue, driving exponential growth in the salary cap, increasing average compensation beyond half a million dollars and raising the professional standard across facilities, staffing and support. It strengthens housing and retirement, and expands resources for family planning and parental leave. It redefines what it means to be a professional in this league.”
Players and the league came to the table in person for marathon negotiating sessions after months of discord and rejected proposals on each side. Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier called out league commissioner Cathy Englebert in September, saying the league had the “worst leadership in the world.”
The players opted out of the expiring CBA in October 2024, and things grew even more contentious as the sides seemed too far apart to make a deal by March 10, which the WNBA said was the last day they could guarantee the season starting on time on May 8.
Instead, the WNBPA’s executive committee, along with WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson, took eight more days to hash out the agreement in person at the Langham Hotel in New York City. At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Ogwumike, vice presidents Breanna Stewart and Alysha Clark, along with treasurer Brianna Turner, announced the news to media gathered at the hotel.
“I think this can be summed up in two words: player empowerment … players coming to the table and standing on business and being reminded of the collective voice and of what it means to be in a union and the power of this union,” Jackson said. “They never forgot it, and they have taken it, like they always do, to the next level.”
Superstar A’ja Wilson is already a millionaire, but she likely will make history again, as the first recipient of a million-dollar contract from the WNBA. Last year, the four-time league MVP made $200,000, with a $15,450 bonus for earning the award. Jackie Young, her teammate on the league champion Las Vegas Aces, had the league’s top salary last season, making $252,450.
While stars like Wilson, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark will undoubtedly benefit from the new CBA, Alysha Clark says that the new deal benefits mid-tier players like herself and the entire league. And that, she and the others say, is the point.
“What we just accomplished is going to change the lives of so many players,” Clark said. “And speaking from experience, players like me are going to be the ones that I think feel it the most, and that’s what I think we’re all super proud of, because that’s what we set out from the beginning, was making sure every player felt the change in the CBA, and that’s exactly what has happened.”
The Unrivaled league, co-founded by Collier and Stewart, plays in Miami in the W off-season. They set the tone for player salaries, offering six figures to players in their 2025 inaugural season. This year, though TV ratings dipped, the league drew record crowds in sellouts at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia and at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The ascension of players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers has transformed the always-popular but niche league into a sports juggernaut. Clarke, Reese and Wilson have major shoe deals and multiple endorsements, with a new crop of stars to capitalize on their success and the new CBA expected from the next draft.
Franchises are coming to Toronto and Portland this season, with Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia bringing the league to a high of 18 teams between now and 2030.
The league’s newest expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, sold out every one of its games in its inaugural season, making the playoffs. Their coach, Natalie Nakase, won the 2025 Coach of the Year award, presiding over the scrappy team, whose home arena was nicknamed ‘Balhalla.’
The WNBA also signed a record 11-year media rights deal in 2024 worth $2.2 billion, which averages $200 million per year.
“The progress made in these discussions marks a transformative step forward for players and the league,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters. “And it’s underscoring a shared commitment to the continued growth of the game.
She added, “It’s [been] a process, but we’re very proud to be leading in women’s sports, and these players are amazing, and we’re going to have an amazing 30th season tipping off in May.”
Now that the deal is done, the WNBA has to immediately get to league business, as over 100 players are free agents, which is the majority of the league. Critical dates include the expansion draft, expected to happen April 1 – 6, with qualifying offers expected to be made April 7 and 8. Negotiations can happen April 9 -11, with free agency starting on April 12. The college draft is April 18, and the Dallas Wings hold the top pick for the second year in a row.
No. 1 seed UConn’s Azi Fudd, who is Buecker’s girlfriend, could potentially go in the top spot, as could UCLA’s Lauren Betts or Olivia Miles from Texas Christian University. And by 2028, a healthy JuJu Watkins will come into a league made much richer by her predecessors.
Pre-season starts April 19, and the W’s originally scheduled tipoff is expected to happen on May 8. The league plays 44 games this year, up from 40.
See social media’s reaction to the two sides coming to an agreement below.
WNBA Scores Historic CBA After Marathon Negotiations was originally published on cassiuslife.com
