Players expecting to receive a proposal from the WNBA about a new collective bargaining agreement walked away from Monday’s meeting empty-handed.
Meeting for the first time in months, the two sides talked for about three hours at the league’s New York offices.
However, the league still has not responded to the union’s latest proposal, which was submitted around Christmas.
“They volunteered that they did not have a proposal prepared at the top of the meeting,” Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike told Front Office Sports. “That kind of set the tone for the conversation because we were hoping to hear otherwise.”
Ogwumike was joined by WNBPA executive committee members Brianna Turner and Alysha Clark. Kelsey Plum, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart were among about 40 other players who participated via video call in the meeting attended by WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, members of the labor relations committee, New York Liberty owners Clara Wu Tsai and Storm co-owner Sue Bird, according to reports.
Ogwumike said Monday’s meeting involved both sides providing further explanations about their most recent proposals since the WNBPA opted out of the last CBA in October 2024.
The primary sticking point is revenue sharing. Other issues the WNBPA wants to discuss include player housing, rookie-scale contracts and financial support for mental health.
Hefty pay raises for the league’s top players are expected in a new CBA, but the sides are far apart on the amount. Front Office Sports reported that the WNBPA proposal calls for players to earn an average of $800,000 per year, while the WNBA proposal comes in at about $530,000 per year.
According to Spotrac, the three players with the highest base salaries currently all make just under $250,000 per year — Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana ($249,244), Jewell Loyd of Las Vegas ($249,032) and Arike Ogunbowale of Dallas ($249,032).
The past two Rookies of the Year, Caitlin Clark of Indiana and Paige Bueckers of Dallas, both earn in the $78,000 range.
With the WNBA’s 30th season scheduled to begin May 8, Ogwumike and Clark told Front Office Sports that there seemed to be a lack of urgency from the league’s side.
Clark said there still are more conversations that have to happen before the union would consider calling a strike. The WNBPA authorized its executive committee to call for a strike on Dec. 18.
“After the meeting today, it’s still on the table,” Clark said. “Until we get a response from the league about proposals, there’s nothing that we’ve been able to negotiate and go back and forth with to even warrant ‘OK, what does a strike look like?’
“It’s on the table, as it has been since the strike authorization vote happened.”
–Field Level Media
