When WNBA players entered these collective bargaining negotiations with a list of demands they won’t back down from, nobody knew exactly what that meant.
WNBA Financial Status Is Mystery To All
They wore the “Pay Us What You Owe Us’ shirts, sending a strong message to the league, during All-Star week. However, many found that laughable considering the league has been operating from millions of losses, but they won’t open the books for anyone to understand exactly how the money is flowing post Caitlin Clark. With an average salary of $147K for 44 games of work, player representatives have continuously said they are looking for a significant increase that coincides with the new money that has trickled into the league the past few seasons.
Again, there are no specific numbers. All we know is that ratings, attendance, merchandising and visibility on social media is up. We also know the league was given $2B over 11 years by the NBA as part of its media rights deal. That $200M per season is the pot from which it seems WNBA players want to get paid. And they don’t want to take baby steps anymore. With increases in ratings, attendance and merchandising they also want a bigger slice of the overall revenue.
WNBA Players Want Same Cut Of Revenue As NBA Players
Currently, WNBA players receive a 9.3% share of the league’s income, which is the lowest among the top pro sports leagues in the United States. We have to be fair and say that’s because it’s also probably the lowest grossing.
Meanwhile, NBA players are guaranteed a 49 -51 per cent share of their league’s basketball-related income, which encompasses money generated from TV deals, ticket sales, merchandise sales, and licensing. Each year, the NBA has shared 51% per year to its players, except 2020-21, which was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
WNBA Star Kelsey Plum Says Half The Revenue Is Only Right
During her recent appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes, WNBA union first vice president Kelsey Plum explained that the union is not asking for the same salaries as NBA players. It demands the same percentage of the pie as the men.
“A lot of times, the misinformation comes in where we’re asking to be paid what the men are being paid. That’s not true. We’re asking just the same percentage of revenue or a similar percentage of revenue. And right now, that’s not the case. And so that’s what we’re fighting for,” explained Plum.
Reports Say WNBA Rejected Deal That Would Have Quadrupled Minimum Salary From $66K To $250K
The first offer from the league was called a “slap in the face.”
Back in June, prior to the lackluster All-Star festivities, WNBPA rep Satou Sabally expressed disappointment with the latest offer, which according to reports, seems like a significant boost.
“I think we can focus on our players in the union. We got a proposal from the league that was honestly a slap in the face,” Sabally told reporters. I think we really need to put an emphasis on the players that are in our league right now, but I love to see the league growing. I think adding teams in Philly and Detroit that’s …how amazing is that they can grow? But how cool would it be to also have a little bit expansion on the rosters but focus on teams that have everything set up right now and maybe focus on the teams that find excuses continuously to lack investment into their players, before we focus on adding more to the grain of people that can’t be sustained.”
The specifics of the offer was not discussed at the time. Recent reports suggest that WNBA players turned down a deal that would’ve quadrupled their pay, minimum $66K to $250K, maximum $250K to $1M.
Current WNBA Players Not High On Expansion, Splitting The Pot Further
Sabally’s comments suggest that current players aren’t really that high on expansion. Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham expressed that much, but her approach didn’t articulate the real concern, which is the overall pie being cut among more players. Her point was lost in the social media mill.
Cunnningham was asked her thoughts on the WNBA expansion plans and said: “I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]”
Certain people took her comments to be a shot at inner-city, urban areas and she was highly criticized. What Cunningham’s comments actually reflect is the urgency by the current players to get as big a deal as possible right now— prior to full expansion in 2030. The last CBA was agreed to in 2020, and the players are pushing for improvements that are commensurate with the league’s “growth.”
Social Media Reacts To WNBPA Rejecting CBA Offer
Plenty of change is coming in the WNBA as it prepares for its largest expansion in its 32-year history. Golden State just joined this season. Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia are set to join the league by 2030, bringing the total number of teams to 18. Social media and WNBA fans had all kinds of opinions and reactions to the report and Sabally’s past comments.
“So they rejected making million dollar salaries in a league losing money???,” asked one confused fan on X.
Others weren’t as nice and called out the league and its players. “You think the NBA regrets starting the WNBA, When’s the last time the league was profitable?” another quipped.
The reported significant increase in salaries has some fans scratching their heads, considering the league was reportedly losing close to $40M per season pre- Caitlin Clark.
“So $350,000 is a slap, do these slow, bad players with 10 min quarters and 44 games and 2 of 3 playoffs really think WNBA product is even 10% of NBA, it’s not,” said one netizen with a bone to pick with the W.
“Lol…someone needs to slap the @WNBA players in the face literally. It’s people on the job that would like a couple of dollars raise and they actually make the company money. The #WNBA players turned down 6 figures and literally hasn’t made their employer not one dollar is crazy,” another commented on X.
It always comes down to economics, and of course, Caitlin Clark, as one fan suggested. “The league operates at a loss and is subsidized by the NBA. And its players beat the sh*t out of the only player that fans pay to watch – Caitlin Clark.”
Caitlin Clark & Angel Reese Fighting Injuries As Season Enters Final Stretch
With Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese looking like they won’t be back this season and collective bargaining agreements seeming to not be getting anywhere, along with fans bring in the dark about plenty of things including the simple question of how much money the WNBA actually makes or loses in total, don’t expect the negotiations to get any easier.
Until the league and the players get on the same page and we actually know how much money is at stake, everyone will have an opinion about how much players deserve of the overall revenue.
